28 November, 2025 14:30 – 18:00 CET
Aula Rogers, Politecnico di Milano, Via Ampère 2, Milan
Online Live Streaming LINK
How do transnational architectural and urban projects affect urban heritage? In this seminar, international experts and researchers will draw on examples from Europe and the United States, as well as on the findings of in-depth case studies in Rome, Venice, and Naples. They will discuss the varying roles of planners, designers, preservationists, and local communities. The event will highlight the challenges and frictions associated with such processes and their impact on the future development of historic cities.
Welcome and Opening Address
Massimo Bricocoli (Head of Department, DAStU, Politecnico di Milano)
Davide Ponzini (Professor, Politecnico di Milano)
Keynote Speech
Transnational actors and heritage: A new spatial lexicon in historic areas?
Sandra Guinand (Senior Researcher, Austrian Academy of Sciences and Associate Researcher, EIREST Paris 1 Sorbonne Pantheon University)
Traditionally, preservation interventions have been the subject of investment by public authorities, supported by guidelines from international governmental organisations. Yet, in recent decades, new actors have emerged, including real estate funds, developers, global elites, and foundations. These actors are involved in redevelopment projects, interventions in defined historic areas, and individual objects. This phenomenon has been accompanied by an internationalisation of markets and can lead to the homogenization of landscapes with iconic architectural objects operating as standardised commodities inserted into historic centres and waterfronts across Europe and beyond. Through case studies in the United States and Europe, this presentation examines the interventions, practices, and outcomes of private actors and transnational firms operating in historic areas. It aims to shed light on the attributes, values, and expressions associated with these interventions and to identify whether a common lexicon emerges from their practices.
Moderated by Davide Ponzini (Professor, Politecnico di Milano) and Carla Tedesco (Associate Professor, IUAV University of Venice)
Discussants
Filippo De Pieri (Professor, Politecnico di Torino)
Martin Müller (Professor, University of Lausanne)
Francesca Vigotti (Assistant Professor, Politecnico di Milano)
Presentation of case studies in Rome, Venice, and Naples
Moderated by Paolo Scrivano (Associate Professor, Politecnico di Milano)
Zachary M. Jones (Postdoc Researcher, Politecnico di Milano)
Marco Antonio Minozzo Gabriel (Postdoc Researcher, IUAV University of Venice)
Capucine Tournilhac (Postdoc Researcher, Federico II University of Naples)
Anita Martinelli (PhD Candidate, Politecnico di Milano) and Sveva Ventre (PhD Candidate, Federico II University of Naples)
Urban Policy and Design Practice in Dialogue
Moderated by Anna Marson (Professor, IUAV University of Venice)
Laura Lieto (Vice Mayor of Naples and Professor, Federico II University of Naples)
Marcello Rossi (National Council Member, CNAPPC)
Closing Remarks
Matteo Basso (Associate Professor, IUAV University of Venice)
Finanziato dall’Unione Europea – Next Generation EU, visto il D.D. n. 1409 del 14/09/2022 (Bando PRIN 2022 PNRR), nell’ambito del Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza,
Missione 4 Istruzione e ricerca – Componente 2 Dalla ricerca all’impresa – Investimento 1.1. CUP: D53D23020140001. Nr. di protocollo di progetto: P2022FXFZ5.
La ricerca di Anita Martinelli è sostenuta da una Borsa di Dottorato PNRR (finanziata dal Decreto Ministeriale n. 118 del 02/03/2023, PNRR, Missione 4, Componente 1,
Investimenti 3.4 e 4.1).
