In developing the foundations of a School of Agritecture, Francesca Gattello envisioned a process structured around three stages:
Phase 1 – Situated Manifesto of the School of Agritecture: developed together with Leonardo Mastromauro, this phase resulted in the collective writing of the Situated Manifesto of the School of Agritecture, which defined the School’s ethics, vocabulary and project horizons. It established the School as a situated, circular, multispecies and intergenerational practice, grounded in processes of cooperation, alliances between species, and the enhancement of vernacular ecosystems.
Phase 2 – Raw Materials. A Generative Atlas of Local Materials and Vernacular Techniques: students were guided in developing a first Atlas of Materials, conceived as a tool for research, cataloguing and design orientation. The atlas brings together plant species, mineral materials, agricultural waste, building techniques and potential contemporary applications in bioconstruction, design and ecological planning. Among the outputs, students also developed an editorial prototype dedicated to the common reed (Arundo donax L.), as the first monographic exploration within the Atlas.
Phase 3 – Situated Design Practices: a learning construction site, led by Cosimo Francesconi, focused on the partial renovation of a caseddha — a traditional Salento dry-stone rural building — in the Parco dei Paduli. The project brought together bioconstruction, the preservation of minor rural heritage, natural materials and learning through making.
The building activities — from repointing joints with hydraulic lime and constructing the timber frame, to casting lime-hemp mixtures and installing the reed roof, from applying raw-earth plasters to compacting the floor, and finally to the creation of selected interior furnishings, curated by Francesco Faccin — were conceived both as constructive acts and as pedagogical practices.
