Contemporary architecture in historical contexts: for a system of values

The article proposes a reflection on the relationship between new construction in historical context, focusing on the recognition of the values of the contemporary architecture that has been inserted in it, starting with post-war reconstructions. The inherited heritage is not, in fact, impervious to the projection of individual and collective memory. Can there be, then, for twentieth-century architecture built in ancient contexts, a "cultural memory", which is also a fundamental element of the patrimonial value? At least as much as other historical periods, the twentieth century brought with it a condition of complexity in which collective and individual actions, economic, political and social values were intertwined in the modification of space. The attribution of values to recent and very recent architectural production, which in different ways has established a dialogue with the ancient fabric, is varied and controversial. From a methodological point of view, the works were selected and studied on the basis of the following criteria: the relevance of the author; the type of building and its methods of use, thus also considering the main innovations in the relationship between the creation of space and its perception; the significance of the work for the social community; the relationship with the urban or landscape and environmental context; the evolution of construction logics and principles and the use of innovative materials. The research has led to the cataloguing of a large number of works, divided into various headings that have already been entered in a specific database of the Liguria Region and of the Ministry of Culture. In addition to this first significant result, which broadens the horizon of knowledge by collecting in a single digital tool information that is also fragmented in local historiography, the research has provided an opportunity to investigate, through archival research, the design and construction history of the most significant works.