Reusing Time in architecture. The practice of reusing building products and components

Abstract

Signs often appear on the surfaces of the urban fabric, some due to the passage of time, others to the constant alterations of man. This essay reflects on the role the reuse of elements assumes in contemporary architecture and on the contribution this practice can offer to a design suited to the built environment. The analysis will consider the environment both from an ecological perspective and as a “place” constantly modified by nature and man. The study of the reasons for reuse in the past and present, discussing them from the point of view of contemporary professionals, allows an original interpretation of the relationship between the circularity of time and the circularity of material flows with a view to preserving resources.