Laboratorio di Architettura Semerano
 

After years of proclamations of revolutions always announced in the home of others, and vulgar displays of consumerism, a different attitude has manifested itself, aware that, without inner growth, no deep and lasting transformation is possible. A reflection on the meaning of making architecture therefore seems indispensable. Proposed in the ancient form of the acronym, it expresses by lines a "way" of feeling architecture that it would be interesting to compare in this art-game mode with as many different visions as possible.

The lab 
The vision of a Renaissance workshop, where the different arts can meet sharing experiences, ideas, talents and cultures, materialized in 2005 in the Salento countryside in the Cupa valley, where the ancient Rudiae was founded. A great thrill was to discover, after crossing a tangle of narrow streets, that great void dominated by the imposing bulk of the tobacco factory, and then that the internal courtyard was an ancient citrus grove, a further wonder. Producing culture on the outskirts of the Empire was a further challenge to be met. In recent years, the Laboratory has been a common denominator for different and autonomous personalities, not an office, but a place not only physical but mental where to experiment a way of working based on inner growth and the development of one's qualities, in a continuous exchange with different artistic experiences. Various types of projects have been developed in the Laboratory: projects that intervene in the historical landscape, such as the restoration of ancient farmhouses and the recovery of traditional buildings in a contemporary key; projects that address the redevelopment of the existing urban fabric, even anonymous and of no quality, as a renewal while respecting the identities of the places; projects for technological innovation integrated with architecture, for example in the field of renewable energy; projects in which the recovery of craft traditions plays a key role in the creative process, re-establishing the working relationship with local artisans and workers, who retain an extraordinary knowledge of materials and construction techniques. The laboratory also started interventions that interact with places and people "in the territory", such as installations and performances. These actions were aimed at enhancing the submerged potential and making people interact, with both cultural and social purposes. Particular attention is always paid to the world of childhood and the expression of children. The comparison between different experiences is one of the themes on which the experience of the Laboratory is based, which has among its objectives also that of offering the territory and the community training opportunities and the exchange of professional knowledge. 

Thinking Hypogeum
In the underground spaces the position of the observer changes and therefore the perceptive relationships with space and light. The movement of the sun and the moon dictate cuts, cracks, the gashes that are light and perception of the landscape. An extraordinary design experience opens and proposes the use of the land and the territory from a different point of view.

Tradition and innovation
A curious form of squint is widespread among architects and critics, which leads them to assume extreme or ideological positions towards tradition, from conservative madness to the limits of fetishism to the futuristic utopia of technology, passing through the kitsch of collages of quotations more or less learned.
Quite simply, without innovation there will never be a tradition. Anything that can improve living conditions must be paid attention to, known without enthusiasm or uncritical refusals, but aware of the total autonomy and specificity of architectural design.