Tectonics in rehabilitated buildings in the work of Norman Foster

Abstract

Thinking about the contemporary city as a living and dynamic organism that needs answers to current demands is necessary and urgent. Architects, engineers and planners increasingly discuss social, environmental and economic dynamics in an integrated context. The present work presents the tectonic theory, based on an analytical tripod composed by: conception, materiality and technique, in order to be applied as an operational methodology for reading and identifying the design process aimed at the rehabilitation of buildings in the urban context. Initially, it will try to identify how the parameters of the tectonic aspect in architecture, based on the mentioned tripod, can serve as an interpretive basis for interventions in urban buildings, with a focus also on the sustainable technological issues that permeate the discourse in contemporary society. Subsequently, the methodology will be applied in case studies of buildings rehabilitated and requalified in the work of architect Norman Foster. The objective is to find out if the examples answer contemporary urban issues aimed at the defense of heritage, preservation, rehabilitation, and pointing out the concerns of future generations. As a result, the search for the identification of tectonics as a tool of the multidisciplinary project, focusing on the rehabilitation of heritage, in an emerging field that combines and respects the past, present and future.