GHOST TOWN REFUGE
Entry to Young Architects Competition, February 2020
A network of bookable resorts proposes to transform the ghost town of Craco, Italy into a hybrid destination that functions as both an educational experience and a place for immersive stays.
Prefab units as shorter-term ‘shelters’ adapt to their surroundings, highlighting the details and views of the ruins.
As the campus cycles annually between stays and tourism or preservation, built-in furniture can be stowed away to transform the shelters into galleries.
Existing historic roadways are extended with new bridges, guiding visitors to elevated points previously inaccessible.
The once-vibrant central plaza of Craco, reduced to rubble by a historic landslide, is rebuilt at its original elevation as a viewing platform and roof deck above the main entrance and gallery.
Extended-stay suites are set on the highest summits to capture sweeping views. Site rubble is repurposed to shelter the bathing areas, anchoring the new architecture within the site’s layered history.
