The laboratories on the history of architecture and the city aim to provide the tools to investigate the diachronic dimension of architecture and the transformation of the territory and to build a critical reflection on the relationship between past and present. The laboratories differ from the previous monographic courses of History of Architecture in the use of forms of teaching based on the students' direct experience of analysis and historical research. Each laboratory focuses on a theme, an object, or a case study chosen by the professor, without geographical or chronological limits. The theme of the History of Architecture and Cities Lab A for the academic year 2020/21 is: “Housing as a laboratory for history-making practices: researching, writing, and disseminating”

In general terms, the laboratories guide the students to the research of historical sources (graphic or textual, material, bibliographical and/or archival), to their analysis and interpretation, to their discussion and finally to the restitution of the research carried out through tools such as writing or graphic analysis. Through an in-depth experience conducted on specific case studies, each laboratory aims to provide students with the critical and methodological skills necessary to conduct an autonomous and conscious study and research project. The laboratories also aim to strengthen students' critical skills with regard to some central themes of contemporary historiographical debate.

The student must have passed the History of Contemporary Architecture exam (1st year) and attended the History of Modern Architecture exam (2nd year).

Under the title “Housing as a laboratory for history-making practices: researching, writing, and disseminating” the 2020/21 edition of the History of Architecture and Cities Lab A will introduce the students to the various ways through which histories of architecture and cities are constructed and disseminated. Stories of residential buildings will serve as an experimental testing ground for a critical observation of the methodological challenges behind the daily practices of historical research.

The laboratory will guide students through a plurality of exercises aimed at developing specific skills: bibliographic research; identification and critical use of primary sources; critical readings of key texts; deconstruction of existing research works; paper writing exercises; visual analysis of buildings; individual and group presentations; collective discussions; etc. Each of the teaching modules will be subject to specific forms of revision and will contribute to the formation of the overall evaluation.

IMPORTANT NOTE: At the time of writing, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to predict to what extent the course will be held through direct interaction in the classroom or through a plurality of remote teaching instruments. The organization of the course might be subject to change in response to such variables. A detailed program of course activities will be provided at the beginning of the semester. The laboratory will alternate between ex-cathedra lessons, specific exercises to be conducted either in small groups or individually, and collective discussions on some issues of common relevance. It will be articulated into three major modules: a) Themes and keywords: an exploration of some of the research trends and questions that are explored by contemporary housing research. This module will be based upon the reading of a number of texts and their public discussion. b) Histories: a critical analysis of some recent examples of research on the history of houses and housing complexes. Students will be required to read a specific work recently published in the field, to deconstruct its sources and research methods, and to discuss these issues in a written analysis. c) Publics: an exploration into the public histories of housing, that is, into the narratives created for telling housing stories to a broad, non-specialized publics, for example in museums and through various media. Students will be asked to observe a number of recent experiences in the field and to imagine a public history strategy for a given object.

A more detailed reference bibliography will be provided at the beginning of the semester. The following texts serve as an introduction to some of the themes touched by the laboratory. Andrew Leach, What is Architectural History?, Cambridge: Polity Press, 2010; Raffaella Sarti, Europe at Home: Family and Material Culture, 1500-1800, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002; Barbara Miller Lane (ed.), Housing and Dwelling: Perspectives on Modern Domestic Architecture, Abingdon: Routledge, 2007 John Foot, Micro-history of a house: memory and place in a Milanese neighborhood, 1890-2000, “Urban History”, 34, 3 (2007), pp. 431-453; Inge Daniels, The Japanese House: Material Culture in the Modern Home, Oxford: Berg, 2010; Florian Urban, Tower and Slab: Histories of Global Mass Housing, Abingdon: Routledge, 2012; Gaia Caramellino, Filippo De Pieri, Private generalizations: the emergence of the micro scale in historical research on modern housing, in Anne Kockelkorn, Nina Zschocke (eds.), Productive Universals/Specific Situations: Critical Engagements in Art, Architecture and Urbanism, Berlin: Sternberg Press, 2019, pp. 295-313.

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato grafico individuale; Elaborato grafico prodotto in gruppo; Elaborato scritto individuale; Elaborato scritto prodotto in gruppo;

The evaluation will be carried out continuously over the course of the semester and will be based on the outcome of all the activities carried out during the workshop, as well as the student's ability to participate in discussions. The final exam will consist of an oral interview during which the student will have to demonstrate the ability to critically review the work carried out during the semester and analyze in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory.

Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato grafico individuale; Elaborato grafico prodotto in gruppo; Elaborato scritto individuale; Elaborato scritto prodotto in gruppo;

The evaluation will be carried out continuously over the course of the semester and will be based on the outcome of all the activities carried out during the workshop, as well as the student's ability to participate in discussions. The final exam will consist of an oral interview during which the student will have to demonstrate the ability to critically review the work carried out during the semester and analyze in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory.