Architettura mineraria. Quale futuro per gli impianti offshore?

In the last twenty years the depletion of oil and gas marine fields has led to the abandon of an increasing number of offshore platforms. The consistency of this heritage of industrial architecture and the significance of the potential environmental risks related to its abandonment has stirred a broad critical debate on the future of these facilities. If the hypothesis of the extraction dismantling looks less and less viable because of the difficulty of removing and disposing of materials in sustainable way, the reconversion of offshore platforms to new uses seems to be the best solution. The recovery proposals range from the use of the submerged part of the reclaimed structure for the creation of artificial reefs, the use of the emerged part for the installation of wind turbine blades, to environmentally friendly reuse scenarios with the creation of permanent or temporary residences, centers sports and amusement parks. Starting from a synthetic analysis of the typological and constructive characteristics of offshore installations, the paper aims to contribute to the reflection on the possible recovery mode and reuse of this heritage of industrial architectures, in particular by focusing attention on some paradigmatic proposals of conversion of platforms in tourist hotel facilities.