MWA
Medieval wooden architecture is an incredible source of archetypes for sustainable and resilient architecture, and a timeless lesson in terms of relationship with Nature and Divine.
Thomas Allocca
Medieval Wooden Architecture
V I S I O N & M I S S I O N
MWA is a private project by White Oak Arkitecture, launched in March 2024 with the aim of funding and developing historical and archaeological research projects, and to establish medieval wooden architecture museums, with full-scale reconstructions and laboratories. Medieval wooden architecture as a fundamental cultural heritage for European architecture history, an extraordinary source of archetypes for sustainable and resilient architecture of the present, and a strategic resource for academic-tourism economy through the establishment of medieval open-air museums.
I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E F E R E N C E S
The MWA Project is committed to be aligned with the principles and aims of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Global Compact. The MWA Museums are committed to join the United Nations Gobal Compact.
L O G O
The MWA's logo was inspired by the three royal burial mounds (Kungshögarna) at the Norse site of Gamla Uppsala, in Sweden. The three cusps of the letters M and W represent the three royal mounds. The letters W and A are in bold to highlight the main focus of the project, which is wooden architecture, and secondarily the historical context of the Middle Ages.
photo: Royal Mounds at Gamla Uppsala © Wiglaf
M U S E U M P R O J E C T S
Krunatun
Started in April 2024, the project aims to create a territorial medieval museum, with headquarters in the town of Corleto Monforte (Salerno, Italy), with full-scale reconstructions. The museum will celebrate the history and architecture of the Longobard county that had seat in Corleto Monforte. The results of the first historical and non-invasive archaeological research have been published in December 2024 in the book Krunatun. Corleto Monforte in the Longobard Early Middle Ages. The project is still open.
Helfara
Started in March 2025, the project aims to create a territorial medieval museum, with headquarters in the town of Sant'Angelo a Fasanella (Salerno, Italy), with full-scale reconstructions. The museum will celebrate the history and architecture of the Longobard fortified settlement born as Helfara (according to our reconstruction), then evolved into Fasanella, today Sant'Angelo a Fasanella. The first historical and non-invasive archaeological research have been focused on the area of the lost Benedictine abbey of the still existing sanctuary-church Grotta di San Michele Arcangelo, where we have found what we suppose are traces of a runic inscription of a Longobard or a Saxon noble's tomb. So far, we have identified traces of 13 runes, with a possible name Edwin. The project is still open.