Innovative Building Technologies for Sustainable Architecture in Heritage Sites: Detailed Design of Two Full-scale Prototypes in the Ancient Greek Colony of Megara Hyblaea in Sicily

Abstract

The present research shows some results obtained by the PON project entitled "An early warning system for cultural heritage / EWAS". In this national funded project, Sicilian research institutions, universities and companies work together with the common goal of developing new technologies for the protection and enhancement of historical and cultural heritage and also aim to improve its strategic management and protect it from risks. With a view to pursuing the primary objectives of the EWAS project, it was planned to realize two full-scale prototypes. The first one is a lightweight shelter, the second one is a micro-architecture for facilities. They are able to reduce the environmental impact, they are responsive and they are designed to protect the sensitive areas of the excavations and at the same time to facilitate the use of the archaeological site. In order to test these prototypes, the archaeological area of Megara Hyblaea has been chosen, the most ancient Greek colony in Sicily. It is immersed in an industrial landscape that stretches along the coast of eastern Sicily from Augusta to Syracuse. The sense of the original place has been erased by an indiscriminate occupation of the land by industries which has left, here and there, an archipelago of "heritage relics" of various kinds, which are equally close to the smelly chimneys and the horizon of the sea. This landscape of contrasts, dominated by petrochemical industries, has over time hindered a cultural tourism appropriate to the representativeness and importance of the findings, despite the efforts made by the authorities responsible for its protection.