The aim of the workshop is to develop, alongside the Urban Planning course, a design approach that finds its groundwork in the relationship between the themes of urban space transformation and the architectural project.
The final aim is to guide students to the understanding and practice of the urban design. The final project will be elaborated that, starting from the hypotheses described above, propose a strategy, define some scenarios, and elements of a coherent conceptualization developing measured and technically controlled design actions.
The course is structured in lectures and workshop lectures, seminars, travels, workshops, classroom exercises and group-based activities.
The programme focuses on the core Architectural Design experience at various scales, both in theory and in practice with particular attention not only to the project results, but also to the process of developing of the project itself.
Main methodological points are:
- analysis of the physical features of the site and its surroundings;
- concept design;
- implementation of the theme through the compositional process.
To take the exam it is necessary to have attended at least 70% of the workshop hours and the completion of the three project phases. The final exam will consist of an interview on the topics of the course and a discussion on the analysis and project elaborations.
The educational path of the workshop meets adequately the increasing need to face the complexity of the project through four time steps and multiple levels of study:
1 st Step, identification of the project areas, analytical reading of the sites and preparation of the functional program;
2 ° Step, development and presentation of the design concept, definition of maximum project with volumetric insertion of new structures in the wider context; drawings and/or maquette, scale study models on an adequate scale;
3 ° Step, architectural development of the project with explanatory tables - prospect plants and section on an appropriate scale and related study models (individual work);
4th Step, development of the urban and compositional aspects of the project. The constituent elements of the project will have to be designed and verified with scale study models (plans, elevations and sections) and noteworthy details on an suitable scale (individual work).
The course deals with the fondamental of urban planning, the tools of the urban and landscape design, the issues related to contemporary territorial transformations. The themes will be explored through the comparison of different theoretical statements, the presentation of significant examples, the work developed in the classroom.
Lessons Program
1. Settlement patterns and urban form
2. Urban pattern 1 - The block
3. Urban pattern 2 - The road
4. Bulding with time
5. Diversity / Mixing
6. Uses / Functions – Time and spatial overlappings
7. The south-east of Paris 1983-2006. The plan programme of the est de Paris
8. The south-east of Paris 1983-2006. A project for Bercy
9. The south-east of Paris 1983-2006. The urban regeneration of a railway infrastructure. Reuilly: a case study.
10. The south-east of Paris 1983-2006. The ZAC Paris Rive Gauche – New urban Experiences in Paris
This lecture program will be completed by seminars related to the design theme developed by the laboratory.
Aldo Rossi, L'architettura della città, available in different editions.
Other references will be suggested during the course.
Bibliography:
Further readings – a selected bibliography: