Phd in ENGINEERING-BASED ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PLANNING

email: edoardo.curra@uniroma1.it
phone: 0644585191
building: A - Facoltà di Ingegneria Civile e Industriale
room: 7

Associate Professor of Architectural Engineering
National abilitation for the position of Full professor of Architectural Engineering
Teaching in the Faculties of Civil and industrial Engineering and Architecture.:
"Project for Architectural and Building Renovation"
"Building Design for Architectural Renovation"
"Architectural Engineering and Building Construction"

2024/ Visiting Professor, UCA, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
2022/ President second General States of Industrial Heritage
2020/ Teaching Responsabie for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degrees - Techniques, Patrimoine, Territoires de l'Industrie (TPTI) - Sapienza associate partener .
2019 / Present, President, AIPAI (Italian Association for Industrial Archaeological Heritage).
2015_2017_2019/ Visiting Professor, Southeast University of Nanjing.
2015/ Present, Associate Professor ICAR/10 Architettura Tecnica – Building Architecture and Engineering.
2016/ Present, Vice President, AIPAI (Italian Association for Industrial Archaeological Heritage).
2014. National qualification for the position of Professor, SC 08C1 – “Design e Progettazione Tecnologica dell’Architettura”.
2011-2015. Tenured assistant professor, SSD - “Architettura Tecnica”, “Sapienza” University of Rome.
2004. PhD, “Sapienza” University of Rome, PhD Program “Building Engineering and Architecture”.
2011/Present II level Master in “Architectural Design for Historical Building and Common Spaces Renovation”. Faculty of Architecture, “Sapienza” University of Rome. Scientific and didactic coordinator.
2011/Present PhD Program “Engineering Based Architecture and Urbanism”, Faculty of Civil and Industrial Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome.
Scientific Secretary and Member of the Board.
2013/Present Dept. of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering, “Sapienza” University of Rome. Member of the DICEA and Component of the “Commission Research”.
2011/Present Rieti-Center of Research for Environment Conservation and Valorisation. Member.
2011/Present Chair of Planning for Building Requalification and Renovation. “Sapienza” University of Rome. Assistant Professor for the master degree in Architecture and Building Engineering.
2011/2013 Chair of Building Design “Architettura Tecnica II”. “Sapienza” University of Rome. Assistant Professor for the bachelor degree in Building and Environmental Engineering.
2008/2010 Chair of Planning for Building Requalification and Renovation. “Sapienza” University of Rome. Contract Professor for the master degree in Building and Environmental Engineering.
2005 “Sapienza” University of Rome. Discipline Expert, “Building Architecture”.
2001 Engineers College of Rome. Member of the College and component of the commission urban renovation (2009-2011).
 
Research Background and education
After master graduation – summa cum laude – in Building Engineering, at the University of Rome “Sapienza” (2000) with a thesis on the restoration of Moderne Architecture, he attended to the XVI PhD Program in “Architecture and Building Engineering” (2000-2004) hosted in the Department of Architecture and Urbanism for Engineering – “Sapienza” Rome.
During those years he grew up, as scholar, in the scientific unit of “Sapienza” guided by Franco Storelli, full professor of the chair of Planning for Building Requalification and Renovation.
He also participated to the Athenaeum programs and to the Contracts of research financed in the Department of Architecture and Urbanism for Engineering, “Sapienza” - Rome.
Each research program, in which he was involved, permitted him to developed personal contributions aimed to improve the knowledge of modern architecture/construction and to individuate techniques and design methods for the intervention on built environment.
These are the main topics of the PhD dissertation: “Construction in Rome during Fifties. Housing of Piano-INA Casa”.
With different research roles, he participated to a number of National Relevance Programs of Research (PRIN): Modern construction in Italy (PRIN 1998-2000) and Modern architecture in Italy: the buildings of the INA-Casa 1949-1963. Methods and technology for conservation and recovery. (PRIN 2000-2002). National Coordinator of both the programs: Prof. Sergio Poretti; Local scientific responsible: Prof. Franco Storelli. Military Buildings from disuse to recovery (PRIN 2005-2007) and Heritage networks. Decommissioned industrial buildings and waterways: new functional roles, spaces, constructive techniques and languages in renovation design (PRIN 2008-2011)
National Coordination and local scientific responsible: Prof. Franco Storelli.
In the fields specifically aimed to the discovering of the construction features and their relation with project and architectural result, he adopted an approach that highlights contiguities and intersections connotative the relation between Architecture and Engineering. In the same areas he has carried out design activity, which in many cases assumed the configuration of applied research (the Restoration of the Theatre Torlonia, a new Wine Factory in the Uccellina Park in Tuscany, the plan for the restoration of the Historic Center of San Gemini in Umbria, the Renovation of the SNIA-Viscosa Factory in Rome, etc..).
These topics were investigated according to different categories of historical heritage, but, in particular, they were studied considering: industrial heritage, architecture and construction of Modern Movement, diffuse historical urban fabrics.
Design issues are considered in relation to the heritage management, decommissioning, abandoning and re-use.
In the following rows there’s a summary description of each field, focusing on funded researches driven by the candidate.

“Industrial Heritage”.
Researches conducted in the field of industrial Heritage identify an ambit where the construction assumes, more than elsewhere, the role of the definition of the architectural features.
After the cited PRIN 2008 (Heritage networks. Decommissioned industrial buildings and waterways: new functional roles, spaces, constructive techniques and languages in renovation design), he intensifies the studies on this field.
This principally thanks to a direct appointment from the Department of Industry in 2009 (focused on the paper mills district in the Province of Frosinone), and to the award of CRITEVAT Research Grant in 2010 on the topic:“Study, documental and material knowledge of urban buildings built in Rieti between 1870 and 1970”.
In the last publications concerning industrial archaeology, we point out “Vie d’acqua e lavoro dell’uomo. L’industria della carta nella Provincia di Frosinone”, (E. Currà - ed. Palombi 2010) and “Manual Abilities and Modern Constructive Techniques in a Building by Arturo Hoerner. The Supertessile Plant and the System Baroni-Lüling, Rieti-Italy, 1926” (ed. Picard 2012), 4th International Congress on Construction History, Parigi, 3-7 luglio 2012.
This last contribution concerns scientific and design innovation that characterize the introduction of thin reinforced concrete frames, applied in industrial buildings realization.

In this field he is principal investigator of researches and contracts:
- Athenaeum Program 2011 “Methods and techniques for the Renovation of Decommissioned Urban Industrial Sites. Data collecting, individuation of values/criteria founding the renovation project. The Houtan Park in Shanghai and the Mills M50”. Principal Investigator 2012-2013 : E. Currà.
- Scientific agreement between “Sapienza” University of Rome and Rieti State Archives. The agreement is finalized to the constitution of the Observatory for Industrial Heritage of Latium. Scientific referent: 2010-2013: E. Currà.
- Scientific agreement between “Sapienza” University of Rome and Young Architects Competition for the common researches in the following topics: a) Investigation of urban and territorial cases of uses modification, particularly decommissioned industrial sites, decayed public heritage, c) their collocation in territorial and architectural development guidelines, d) experimentation of new instruments for the research in these fields: innovative design solutions from the encounter between universities, administration, private, people, young architects, young businessman. Scientific referent 2013-2015: E. Currà.

“Modern Construction and Architecture”.
Concerning this ambit we can point out, beside the cited PRIN 1998 2000 (Modern construction in Italy (PRIN 1998-2000) and Modern architecture in Italy: the buildings of the INA-Casa 1949-1963. Methods and technology for conservation and recovery), a sequence of studies co-financed by Regione Lazio Cultural Bureau from 2002 to 2011, aimed to the discovering and interpretation of modern architecture and construction in Latium.
This researches, guided by Full Prof. Franco Storelli, presented relevant results in the investigation of some sites and works representative of Modern Movement in Italy, principally in re-definition of their identity according to their protection and valorisation.
The upshot of studies and analysis on the new town of Guidonia, on the Aeronautical Centre of Research, and on the GIL of Luigi Moretti, were widely shown in different publications following listed. These activities also included-and-include a series of conferences held in Rome, together with the Air Force Staff, the scientific advising for the restoration and re-use of the “Casa della GIL” in Trastevere, Rome, and the scientific advising for the urban requalification of the Aeronautical Centre of Guidonia.
In the last works we recall:“New town of Guidonia: features of a modern urban space and guidelines for conservation, valorization and improvement of its characters”, Espoo, Finlandia 12th International Docomomo Conference “The survival of modern, from coffee cup to general plan” 7-10 agosto 2012. A contribute that concerns the relation between existing environment and prefiguration of next uses, linked to the individuation of specific values and issues of modern architecture and construction in relation to the urban scale.
The survival of the modern issues in post war architecture and construction is also the main topic of his PhD dissertation above cited.

In this field he is principal investigator of researches and contracts:
- Contract research between “Sapienza” University of Rome and Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Higher Institute of Health) for “Scientific advising for the restoration fo the historical architecture of the Istitute”. Principal investigator 2011-2013: E. Currà.
- Scientific agreement between “Sapienza” University of Rome and Soprintendenza Archivistica (historical and modern Archives commission), on the works of architect Giorgio Calza Bini (some results are published in Rassegna di Architettura e Urbanistica, Maria Argenti ed., in the chapter: “Alcune opere di Giorgio Calza Bini all’Eur: la ricerca di una nuova identità per l’E42”, Kappa 2012). Principal investigator 2009-2011: E. Currà.

“Historical architecture”.
The last area was also developed in financed researches starting from the PRIN 2005 (Military Buildings from disuse to recovery) and following with different appointments from Regione Lazio and Sapienza Architecture Faculty.
The historical architecture and construction was studied principally in the diffuse and urban textile dimension.
Italian towns are widely characterized by “several historicities” and it is always a challenge to build an interpretation of urban structure and its evolution based on this choral cohabitation of different material ages.
On the base of these studies there’s the firm belief that “urban process could be still in process”, even if changed and revolutioned by industrialization and modernity.
The immaterial factor of the process are, in fact, more resilient, than the material.
And material ones have brought to modernity proofs of social, political and familiar habits which are still in the genes of local population.
“To build has been to inhabit” and the group of research consider with equanimity the role of the different urban fabrics from the antiquity to the XX century trying to point out the complex frame where inflecting contemporaneity.

In this field he is principal investigator of researches and contracts:
- Regione Lazio, “Oltre la tutela, 70 interventi al cuore dei comuni del Lazio. Programma di recupero dei centri storici 2008”. Analysis of the public works conducted in the historical centres of Latium region with the Regional Fund for the renovation of the historical centres. Main investigators: 2009-2010 E. Currà, F. Toppetti.
- Scientific agreement between “Sapienza” University of Rome and Genua University – Polytechnic School, “Advisor concerning the historical characteristic of the construction in the ancient chartreuse of San Giacomo in Capri”. Scientific referent: 2014: E. Currà.

His academic activities had brought him to join to the following scientific associations:
TICCIH The international committee for the conservation of industrial heritage (2009 to present)
ARTEC – The National Association for Architectural Technology (2005 to present)
AIPAI – Italian Association for the Industrial Archaeology (2010 to present), member of the Central Italy Board.

In the last years he was invited as lecturer or speaker in the following institutions.
Tongji University of Shanghai – Department of Landscape Studies, College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Prof. Jin Yunfeng.
Southeast University of Nanjing – Department of Landscape Architecture, School of Architecture, Prof. Cheng Yuning.
Tor Vergata University of Rome – Department of Civil Engineering, PhD Program Architecture and Construction, Prof. Tullia Iori.
RWTH University of Aachen – Reiff Museum, Department of restoration: Prof. Christian Raabe.
Architecture School of Rome – Department of Architecture and Design, PhD Program Architecture and Construction, Prof. Giuseppe Strappa.