gavon

Il patrimonio fortificato del Friuli è particolarmente ricco di testimonianze interessanti. Fra queste il castello Savorgnan situato nella località collinare di Artegna, lungo la direttrice che porta in Austria. Il complesso, semidistrutto dal sisma del 1976, è oggi restaurato con un intervento filologico attento, che lo restituisce alla comunità come era prima del terremoto.
Le murature portanti in blocchi pietra sagomati con funzione strutturale sono state ricostruite come quelle preesistenti.
La sfida del progetto è stata quella di evitare di ricostruire l’edificio, soltanto mantenendo il suo impianto volumetrico al fine di enfatizzarne l’immagine “turistica”, come avviene di frequente in interventi di integrazione architettonica analoghi, in cui la pietra non viene intesa come una componente strutturale, ma come un mero rivestimento.
Il progetto ha imposto perciò una ricerca compositiva di notevole interesse, su temi lontani dalla sensibilità “contemporanea”, ma mantiene un occhio attento al progresso tecnologico dei nostri giorni.

The region of Friuli is particularly rich of interesting ancient fortifications. The castle of Artegna is one of them, placed in a beautiful site among the hills, along the way to Austria. The historical building was almost completely destroyed during the 1976 earthquake. It is now faithfully reconstructed, and it looks like it was before the seismic events.
Avon architects and Conti engineering have conceived the restoration by collaborating strictly together.
The walls are re-builded by means of stone blocks with a structural function, as it was historically. A group of capable wall yard men slowly complete this work, day by day, working hardly to reach the top of the towers.
The constructive details follow the structural needs: so they have been designed with great attention, working in the building yard, with shapes in a real scale.
The final goal is not to rebuild the castle keeping its volume just to show its touristic image with emphasis, as it frequently happens in architectural integrations. Often it succeeds also that the stones are not intended as structural building material, but only as a superficial skin.
The internal spaces, now re-builded, let see the original vertical nucleuses, constructed with following additions.
At the ground level a pub takes place and it looks out to the east yard and to the west balcony.
The other levels contain a permanent exhibition to show the archeological evidences excavated in the surrounding area, while other spaces are dedicated to temporary exhibitions.
The innovation technology is particularly evident inside: wide led screens are placed to explain the archeological site.
So the team of designers took attention to uncontemporary themes, keeping an eye on technical progress.