The "Architecture for Sustainability" Degree aims at training a designer able to work out a specific technical project according to the current rules and procedures and aware of the aftermaths that design choices involves at different scales and in different geographical contexts. This activity takes place in agreement with the principles of environmental sustainability , economic, social and cultural development - as well as - the management of available resources. Therefore, this course assigns primary focus on Sustainable development, considering the main role covered in it by the urban systems.
The urban project is here considered in all its multidisciplinary issues, environment, social cohesion, economic feasibility, distributional equity, morphological quality, technical and procedural rules and so on. Each of these issues will be focus in relationship with urban policies and technical choices that are specific to the project area.

The course aims to provide skills related to urban sociology and urban planning, in such a way to increase student's design abilities at national and international level

This workshop, which takes place in English language aims to make sure that each student can improve his knowledge with particular carefulness for:

- the concept of sustainability in its several meanings
- the town and country planning technical tools
- the understanding the landscape system, its signs, meanings and land use ;
- the knowledge of the social and environmental requirements needed to design
- the knowledge of settlements morphological structure, physical-spatial and distributive features
- local communities social and cultural imprinting’s and their relationships with the natural and built environment
- the design process at different scales and its relationships with the socio-economic and environmental context.

The workshop will examine the city of Lyon in France and, in detail, the area called "Confluence" corresponding to the a 83 Ha surface bounded on the north by the Perrache railway station and on the remaining sides by the Saone and Rhone Rivers that converge here. The area has been chosen due to its current international interest in the European scene, in size, morphology and social and urban issues. Technical meetings are planned with Lyon municipality officials that are dealing project.

Prerequisite is the knowledge of the English language, together with skills and knowledge that students must have acquired in previous training, in particular to the technical knowledge of urban design and the basics of the history of architecture.

Course attendance is a necessary condition for being able to develop the planned activities positively.
The teaching methodology provide lectures and multi-disciplinary workshops also with external discussants (engineers, public administrators, teachers of other subjects related, experts in specific fields, etc.). Visits and tours on the project area are provided as well as common presentations of the several progresses of the projects .

Bibliography, technical documents and cartography of the working area is available on the academic informatics website of the course

In the exam day each group will submit and discusses their project. The evaluation takes into account the ongoing evaluations, the presentation and discussion of the final processed and the overall work done by the group, but also of individual commitment in such work. The review will also consider the theoretical contents of the two courses and not just the design documents. The exam will be considered passed only if the student sustains sufficient judgment in both disciplines pertaining the Atelier, in evaluation of the drawings and in the good result of the short written test scheduled for the last lesson and do to questions relating to the theoretical contents.