Technological Shells | Technological Ruins. Experimental theatres between innovation and architectonic rehabilitation

The reuse of industrial buildings and the functional rehabilitation of dismantled structures are part of a consolidated operational practice which has generated, over the last decades, all over Europe, a considerable number of auditoria and theatres of small to medium size. In Italy, the constellation of special and experimental structures of the Turin-based theatre system, can be considered amongst the most vital and innovative in the European Union scenario. The practice of consolidation and functional activation of so-called “theatre ruins” includes many excellent examples in the architectonic and preservation field. The rehabilitation case of the former "Cinema-Teatro Astra" [Bonicelli, 1930 | Magnaghi, 2006] is a good example of philological restoration techniques intertwine with original technological solutions. The adoption of so-called “technological shells” is a factual answer to the requirement of harmonizing the preserved asset and reversibility criteria with contemporary architectonic expression