The laboratories on the history of architecture and the city aim to provide the tools to investigate the diachronic dimension of architecture and of 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 in the 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 teacher(s), without geographical or chronological limits. In particular, the History of Architecture and Cities Lab_B aims to provide the basis of the methodology of historical research (literature; secondary sources; primary sources), in order to acquire deep knowledge of the history of an architectural monument (singular works or urban spaces), able to better identify its historical and aesthetic value, also aiming at developing strategies of enhancement, dissemination and protection of the cultural and architectural heritage. Therefore, for the academic year 2020/21 the theme is: “Torino/Turin: the history of its architectural and urban heritage in view of multifaceted strategies of cultural tourism development”.

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 should have passed the History of Contemporary Architecture exam (1st year) and attended the History of Modern Architecture exam (2nd year). Moreover, a general knowledge in the history of Turin and its greatest monuments is strongly recommended.

The course aims to provide the main tools for historical research, understood to mean the definition of the meaning of an architectural monuments (or urban sites) on the basis of its context, its location, the way in which it is presented, even to the evolutionary process of up to their current state. In order to arrive at a sufficient and complete methodological approach, the course will focus on the analysis of some famous case-studies of Turin and its surroundings, intended to provide a complete frame on the complexity and variety of the sources (direct and indirect), and on their specific nature according to the main historical periods and phases. The student teams will deal with monumental ensembles with a significant complexity, focusing on the main methodologies of analysis of the evidences (the monument itself), as well as written and iconographic sources coming from different historical ages: Middle, early and late Modern, Contemporary Age. At the end of the course the student-architect will be able to understand in detail the specific literature, to have a complete panorama of historical sources, to develop a historical research of scientific level, to elaborate critical texts and graphic elaborations able to foster strategies of development, protection and diffusion of the architectural heritage. The course will be organized into teams; review sessions; workshop; visits, according to a timetable to be previously provided to students.

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.

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 tools. The organization of the course might be subject to change due to such variables: therefore, 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 teams or individually, and collective discussions on some issues of common relevance. Lessons (15%) will be focused on theoretical-practical explanations of the main sources of historical research. Exercises will follow every class. Review sessions, if necessary (10%), are meant as synthetic recall-classes on the western history of modern and contemporary architecture. Workshop (60%): the methodologies outlined and exemplified step by step will be tried out through student-led researches on a chosen monument. Students will carry on a historical research in small teams (2-3 students). They will have to produce a research paper (written step by step, with mandatory deadlines) and present the results of the critical and analytical work carried out during the workshop. Next to the work, a large amount of time will be spent on audits with the teachers. Visits (15%) to famous monuments of Turin will be scheduled.

- John BELDON SCOTT, _Fashioning a Capital: The Politics of Urban Space in Early Modern Turin_, in Marcello FANTONI, Malcom SMUTS, George GORSE (eds.), _The Politics of Space: European Courts ca. 1500-1700_, Roma: Bulzoni, 2009. - Claude H. BERGERON, _City Planning in Turin, 1800-1865 : from Napoleon I to the first capital of Italy_, PhD diss. (Univeristy of Princeton, 1972), Ann Arbor: UMI, 1989. - Michele BONINO, Giulietta FASSINO, Davide Tommaso FERRANDO, Carlo SPINELLI (eds.), _Torino 1984-2008: Architecture Atlas_, Torino: Urban center Metropolitano, 2008. - Anthony L. CARDOZA, Geoffrey W. SYMCOX, _A History of Turin_, Torino: Einaudi, 2006. - Cristiana CHIORINO, Giulietta FASSINO, Laura MILAN (eds.), _Turin_, Berlin: DOM, 2015. - Vera COMOLI, Carlo OLMO (eds.), _Turin_, Torino: Allemandi, 2000. - Vera COMOLI, Rosanna ROCCIA (eds.), _Progettare la città. L’urbanistica di Torino tra storia e scelte alternative_, Torino: Archivio Storico della Città di Torino, 2001. - Antonio DE ROSSI, Giovanni DURBIANO, _Turin 1980-2011: Its transformation and its images_, Torino: Allemandi, 2011. - Giulietta FASSINO, Carlo SPINELLI, _Torino contemporanea. Guida alle architetture / Contemporary Turin: Guide to Architectures_, Trento-Barcellona: List Lab, 2011. - Martha D. POLLAK, _Turin 1564-1680 : Urban design, military culture, and the creation of the absolutist capital_, Chicago – London: University of Chicago Press, 1991. - Società degli Ingegneri e degli Architetti di Torino (ed.), _26 itinerari di architettura a Torino / 26 Architectural Walks in Turin_, Torino: Società degli Ingegneri e degli Architetti di Torino, 2000.

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 analyse 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 progettuale individuale;

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 analyse in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory.