Adaptive Reuse Strategies for the Former Convent of San Francesco alle Scale in Ancona

In the heart of Ancona’s historic center, the former convent of San Francesco alle Scale — part of the so-called “Isola” of San Francesco — stands as a forgotten yet significant architectural trace. Severely damaged by World War II bombings and the 1971 earthquake, and left in a state of ruin for decades, the complex today represents a latent urban void: a “periphery at the center,” suspended between memory and neglect. This contribution presents an adaptive reuse proposal that aligns with the need to preserve cultural identity in the context of carbon-positive architectural scenarios. Rather than opting for demolition or full reconstruction, the project embraces a low-impact, incremental strategy aimed at regenerating the site through care — understood both as spatial stewardship and as a critical-curatorial approach to the built environment. The design hypothesis, developed within a thesis design studio, is part of a larger framework agreement signed in 2023 by Università Politecnica delle Marche, the Municipality of Ancona, and the Soprintendenza Marche Nord. It also feeds into a broader urban regeneration agenda involving the Italian State Property Agency (Agenzia del Demanio). The project proposes a partial reactivation of the complex by integrating the existing ruins into a new landscape vision: transforming open spaces and ruined courtyards into a public romantic garden and preserving some areas as “inhabited ruins.” Selected historical spaces are reappropriated with new cultural, educational, and civic functions, inserted in a manner that is reversible and respectful of the existing spatial and material conditions. This approach foregrounds the potential of adaptive reuse not only as a sustainable practice in terms of carbon footprint and material conservation, but also as a means of preserving and reinterpreting collective memory and identity. By recognizing the value of incompleteness, the fragmentary, and the unfinished, the project reclaims the existing fabric as a dynamic infrastructure — one capable of accommodating new uses while narrating its historical layers. Ultimately, the case study offers a reflection on architectural design as an act of care: one that does not erase or overwrite the past, but rather listens, reveals, and repositions it within the urban life of today