Design Models for the enhancement of archaeological fragile sites

The Design Driven approach is part of the research project in terms of content, methodology for its ultimate objective. Starting from the premise that at the time being the architectural project is not part of the UNESCO instruments for the protection and management of heritage, the research is focused on the creation of a new tool – the Design Model – capable of filling this gap. Besides the requirements of being integrated and multiscale, the new tool is asked to be architectural. Architectural design is, in fact, recognized as the ideal tool to gather all the elements that orbit around a UNESCO site, combining its territorial characteristics, the main resources and actors, the specificities of heritage, its needs and its potential. Furthermore, a significant part of the research is structured into two phases – a more theoretical one (the analysis of Case Studies) and a more operative one (the use of the Sandboxes) – and all the results are directed to the elaboration of the design tool: the Design Model. In this process, that leads from a framework of knowledge to the development of a new tool, every element plays its role in the construction of the Design Model. Therefore, it is possible to say that design, intended both as a process and as a result, gives identity and shape to every aspect of the research project, molding its general scheme, directing its efforts, producing the final results.