BEYOND THE UNACKNOWLEDGED COASTLINE. Assessing the potential of out‐of‐map Mediterranean settlements

The stretches of coastline around the Mediterranean basin – besides being graced with distinctive geographical features – bristle with objets trouvés, ordinary forms and materials, unacknowledged architectures, eyesores impacting on the environment, as well as divisive urban developments that pose challenges to contemporary landscape planners, above all with a view to reducing the recorded pervasive anthropogenic pressure on coastal belts.
This article offers updated observations on unacknowledged buildings along the coasts: it stems from the PhD international joint research thesis¹ at the DRACo_Dottorato di Ricerca in Architettura e Costruzione of Sapienza University of Rome and at the Doutoramento em Urbanismo of the Univeristy of Lisbon; such studies have traced a line of research regarding the upgrading of dimissed and fallen-indisrepair buildings, and have led to further research projects² as post-doc fellow.
The objective of the research is to focus on and to trigger off the potential leading to transform and overhaul sites that appear to offer spurned and unappealing formal features. Beyond the not-so-enticing coastlines, lurk opportunities and residential models requiring updated territorial governance.