Archaeology of the Present: Knowledge as a Strategy for Claiming the Value of Contemporary Authorial Architecture

How can contemporary authorial architecture be protected? The need to define intervention strategies aimed at this objective is the premise of the Censimento nazionale delle architetture del secondo Novecento (National Census of the Buildings of the Second Half of the Twentieth Century), undertaken by the Ministry of Culture and aimed at cataloguing the numerous buildings on the Italian territory marked by high-quality characteristics. In the wake of the experience of multimedia cataloguing of the architecture of the second half of the twentieth century scattered throughout the Umbrian territory, the contribution illustrates a research path aimed at reclaiming the value of some specific architectural works built in recent decades, today completely demolished and obliterated by memory. The memory of these works resides solely in knowledge, just as their direct accessibility lies solely in virtual reconstruction and material scale replication. Transferring the title and the cultural approach that distinguishes the iconic collection of essays by Giovanni Urbani, the contribution presents the application to the Umbrian territory of a valorisation methodology that aims at constructing an ‘archaeology of the present’. This methodology aims at embodying a cultural oxymoron capable of celebrating the history and the past, even if recent, perpetuating and reaffirming its presence in contemporaneity. The aim is to preserve long the knowledge of a segment of the architectural heritage not yet unanimously recognised as a holder of cultural value for the city, the landscape and society in general. The aim is to build an archaeological museum of the present on a national level.