Abstract

Restoration and redevelopment are difficult when traces of things that require preservation have been minimized. Such operations are even more complex whenever a portion of an ancient city is involved. This essay describes the redevelopment project of the historic center of Wuhu through the different themes raised during the drafting of the project: from the cultural opportunity of a wide reconstruction work, to the definition of the main design strategies, and the question of memory and identity. The results show that the field of intervention in this project is broader than that of most restoration projects, that is, an evolving city center, which is impossible to consider with traditional restoration parameters or with pure conservation. The only possibility of intervention is on the city structure, which allows the city to develop itself continuously within a well-defined system of rules.

Abstract

The seismic vulnerability assessment of the historic center of Cusco (Peru), an important UNESCO world heritage site, is dealt with in this paper. First, historical development of the city is presented through an in-depth historical analysis of its transformation over time, from the Inca empire to modern days. Then, an extensive in-situ survey activity, that allowed to collect several information about the main structural features concerning ordinary residential buildings, is shown. Based on the collected data, an empirical method calibrated on Italian historic centersfrom the authors is applied. It allowed to obtain Damage Probability Matrices and Fragility Curves for different earthquake intensities, as well as to assess the probability of exceeding certain levels of damage when seismic events of different intensities occur. Based on these predicted damage frequencies, it is possible to prevent irremediable losses and to propose retrofitting interventions which can lead to the seismic vulnerability mitigation for the whole historic center