Touching the Stones: Restoration and Analysis of Historic Buildings

The first course deals with the restoration of masonry buildings in Italy and focuses on traditional building materials such as stone, brick, stucco and mortars out of which structures, decorations and fixed art are made. This course involves lectures in the morning and a restoration workshop in the afternoon. During the lectures students are instructed on the nature of the building materials, how

they are used, how they age and deteriorate over time, the agents of deterioration, and various approaches to their restoration. In the afternoon students participate in a workshop (a total of at least 12 work days) directly restoring the masonry façade of the Oratory of San Carlo, a 13th century church in San Gemini.

> Sketching and Analyzing Historic Buildings. In this course students learn how to identify and analyze historic buildings and their settings. The lecture classes develop skills by familiarizing students with the following topics: the evolution of the Italian city, building typologies, architectural styles, traditional building materials, structural systems, building components and construction methods. The afternoon sketching workshop offers the opportunity to develop analytical skills by observing and documenting historic structures in San Gemini’s medieval core using the information learned during the morning classes. The sketching exercise is not only a gratifying personal experience, it is also a valuable tool (portable and low tech) for guiding the mind through a process of methodical observation and thinking. Beyond this class, the ability to sketch an observation or an idea is very useful in many situations.