Institute of the Holy Heart in Palermo. Architectural and technological proposal of rehabilitation intervention for post-pandemic social housing.

Abstract

Close to the historical city centre, the prince Pignatelli built his villa-palace in the 18th century. Later it became the headquarter of the Order of the Holy Heart that instituted a school attended by the highest society. The 11430 m2 historical building (ground floor, first and second floor), along with its monumental garden (about 9600 m2), was abandoned by the nuns in 2008. The novel ownership is aimed at restoring and re-functionalising the complex, a kaleidoscope of urban-architectural and technological stratifications, located in a crucial point of Palermo still waiting for a new season of requalification, being also close to the Zisa castle, included in the UNESCO Arab and Norman itinerary. This paper summarises the building main historical-architectural and constructive features and the most recent events: modifications, additions, demolitions, etc. The proposal of architectural and technological recovery to convert the abandoned structure into a social housing complex (using the social mixité as a design parameter) is reported. A “social” use is strongly desired as many other historical buildings in the city have already been transformed into hotels, a clear differentiation is needed for the local market and functions. The most recent pandemic events need an indisputable reflection of the novel function, architectural distribution, technological improvement, relation with green and the city. In the “design for all” view, a big effort is being made to select the most advanced technologies, materials and devices from the international market (i.e. nanomaterials, automation, smart devices, etc.), to make the new building healthier and more functional, still maintaining the original characters as prescribed by the local urban plan and national laws on monuments preservation. An exquisitely professional and academic challenge that can result in a series of protocols useful for a new and conscious housing design capable of facing even global problems of rapid and totalising spreads of viruses, such as the COVID-19.