Integrated Cultural Poles:MuseumsQuartier (Vienna) and Real Albergo dei Poveri (Naples) or the transformation of peripheral icons into large-scale civic centres

Abstract

There are architectures of the past that, even today, continue to articulate the city with their presence, but they are pending various actions that give them a functional role in the contemporary city. The programmes that originally gave them their raison d'être have, on certain occasions, become obsolete and this has led to a major crisis in which representative constructions are empty of any activity. These developments have been addressed with different strategies in both central and peripheral areas, but there are still examples that are in need of alternative solutions, beyond possible demolitions. MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and the Real Albergo dei Poveri in Naples are examples, one fully operational and the other in the process of transformation, that reveal these conflicting realities. In both cases, it is necessary to reflect on the programmes that can be accommodated, speci-fic to the society of our time, the typological adaptation derived from these changes in function and the problematic of the large scale of each of these symbols. The processes studied reveal the flexibility and unique values that heritage can bring to the definition of contemporary public space. The construction of our city also involves these complex and fragile works