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.

It is recommended that the student has 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 Italy (especially Rome) 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 (when possible), 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.

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 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. When possible, visits (15%) to famous monuments of Turin will be scheduled.

A more detailed reference bibliography will be provided at the beginning of the semester. The following texts serve as general reference to literature on the themes touched by the laboratory. Antiquity J.N. SUMMERSON, The classical language of architecture, London 1964, 1980. J.B. WARD-PERKINS, Etruscan and Roman Architecture, Harmondsworth, 1970. J.B. WARD-PERKINS, Roman Imperial Architecture, Harmondsworth, 1981. M. WILSON JONES, Principles of Roman Architecture, New Haven, Conn., 2002. W. MACDONALD, J. PINTO, Hadrian’s Villa and its Legacy, New Haven, Conn. and London, 1995. Middle Ages J.B. WARD-PERKINS, From classical antiquity to the Middle Ages: urban public building in Northern and central Italy, AD 300 - 850. London 1984. M. MASKARINEC, City of saints: rebuilding Rome in the early Middle Ages (The Middle Ages series), Philadelphia 2018. Early Modern: Renaissance R. WITTKOWER, Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism, London 1949, 1952, 1962. C.L. FROMMEL, The Architecture of Italian Renaissance, London, 2007. L.H. HEYDENREICH, Architecture in Italy 1400-1500, revised by P. Davies, New Haven, Conn., 1996. W. LOTZ, Architecture in Italy 1500-1600, revised by D. Howard, New Haven, Conn., 1995. A. BRUSCHI, Bramante, London, 1973. J.S. ACKERMAN, The Architecture of Michelangelo, London, 1961, 1995. J.S. ACKERMAN, The Villa: Form and Ideology of Country Houses, London, 1990. D.R. COFFIN, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, Princeton, N.J., 1979. D.R. COFFIN, Gardens and Gardening in Papal Rome, Princeton, N.J., 1991 Early Modern: Baroque R. WITTKOWER, Art and Architcture in Italy 1600 to 1750, revised by J. Connors, J. Montagu, New Haven, Conn., 1999. J. CONNORS, S. Ivo alla Sapienza: the First Three Minutes, in «Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians», LV, 1996, pp. 38-57. J. CONNORS, Alliance and Enmity in Roman Baroque Urbanism, in «Römisches Jahrbuch der Bibliotheca Hertziana», XXV, 1989, pp. 207-294. General D. WATKIN, The Rise of Architectural History, London 1980. A. LEACH, What is Architectural History? Polity, Cambridge, 2010

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay; 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 to analyze in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory. For oral interview we mean the final presentation of the work done during the Lab, followed by a public discussion with questions. Two questions for those who will have met all the deadlines of the exercises scheduled during the semester; six questions for all others. The questions will be based mostly on the study of the notes collected by the students and the pdf of the slides of the lectures that will be provided from time to time during the course, as well as on some specific texts indicated. However, knowledge of the main texts on the history of architecture is recommended, with particular attention to the History of Italian Architecture and of the city of Rome (see Reading materials).

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay; 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 to analyze in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory. For oral interview we mean the final presentation of the work done during the Lab, followed by a public discussion with questions. Two questions for those who will have met all the deadlines of the exercises scheduled during the semester; six questions for all others. The questions will be based mostly on the study of the notes collected by the students and the pdf of the slides of the lectures that will be provided from time to time during the course, as well as on some specific texts indicated. However, knowledge of the main texts on the history of architecture is recommended, with particular attention to the History of Italian Architecture and of the city of Rome (see Reading materials).

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project; Group graphic design project; Individual essay; Group essay; 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 to analyze in a pertinent way the topics and case studies covered by the laboratory. For oral interview we mean the final presentation of the work done during the Lab, followed by a public discussion with questions. Two questions for those who will have met all the deadlines of the exercises scheduled during the semester; six questions for all others. The questions will be based mostly on the study of the notes collected by the students and the pdf of the slides of the lectures that will be provided from time to time during the course, as well as on some specific texts indicated. However, knowledge of the main texts on the history of architecture is recommended, with particular attention to the History of Italian Architecture and of the city of Rome (see Reading materials).