The second design Atelier has the task to proceed with the training of the student in the confrontation with complex processes of transformation by widening the spectrum of competences from the building sphere, dealt with in the first Didactic Period, to the properly urban dimension.
The second Atelier introduces into the design process areas of reflection and analysis, problems, as well as cognitive and implementation tools that primarily concern the sphere of the city and the territory. It considers aspects not simply related to the physical transformation of spaces but also issues relating to the enhancement of the cultural system and the triggering of economic processes, with a view to the overall sustainability of urban and territorial transformations.
Within the Atelier the student is brought to deal with complex transformation processes, characterized by the presence of multiple and divergent instances, where he/she will develop skills and competences aimed at understanding, analyzing, evaluating and adequately representing the fundamental aspects that characterize urban transformation and regeneration processes. The student will examine in detail their impacts and effects on the territory and construct synthesis evaluation frameworks to support the design process.
Given the complexity of the problem addressed, the second Atelier combines two fundamental skills in the transformation of the city:
- architectural and urban composition;
- the economic evaluation of projects (Real Estate Evaluation).
The aim of the Atelier is to introduce the theme of the economic dimension of transformations right from the initial stages of the project and not simply as an ex-post evaluation of the hypotheses formulated, and thus to make it an active tool for constructing project scenarios.
Through an in-depth investigation of the relationships linking the morphology of urban space, the values and the demand of the community/actors in the transformations and the related economic effects, the Atelier aims to lead students towards a profound understanding of the reasons for the formation and subsequent crisis of even large portions of the urban fabric, in the broader context of the urban dimension and metropolitan structures.
The professional figure that the Atelier wants to contribute forming is that of a planner capable of managing different types of instances (technical, economic, political and social) contributing to the transformation of the city.
Through the Atelier experience, students will acquire not only general design skills, but also specific knowledge and skills in economic evaluation of projects, which are compulsorily required for the Master's degree and can be obtained alternatively by attending the first-year "Economic evaluation of projects" theoretical course.
The second design Atelier has the task to proceed with the training of the student in the confrontation with complex processes of transformation by widening the spectrum of competences from the building sphere, dealt with in the first Didactic Period, to the properly urban dimension.
The second Atelier introduces into the design process areas of reflection and analysis, problems, as well as cognitive and implementation tools that primarily concern the sphere of the city and the territory. It considers aspects not simply related to the physical transformation of spaces but also issues relating to the enhancement of the cultural system and the triggering of economic processes, with a view to the overall sustainability of urban and territorial transformations.
Within the Atelier the student is brought to deal with complex transformation processes, characterized by the presence of multiple and divergent instances, where he/she will develop skills and competences aimed at understanding, analyzing, evaluating and adequately representing the fundamental aspects that characterize urban transformation and regeneration processes. The student will examine in detail their impacts and effects on the territory and construct synthesis evaluation frameworks to support the design process.
Given the complexity of the problem addressed, the second Atelier combines two fundamental skills in the transformation of the city:
- architectural and urban composition;
- the economic evaluation of projects (Real Estate Evaluation).
The aim of the Atelier is to introduce the theme of the economic dimension of transformations right from the initial stages of the project and not simply as an ex-post evaluation of the hypotheses formulated, and thus to make it an active tool for constructing project scenarios.
Through an in-depth investigation of the relationships linking the morphology of urban space, the values and the demand of the community/actors in the transformations and the related economic effects, the Atelier aims to lead students towards a profound understanding of the reasons for the formation and subsequent crisis of even large portions of the urban fabric, in the broader context of the urban dimension and metropolitan structures.
The professional figure that the Atelier wants to contribute forming is that of an urban designer capable of managing different types of instances (technical, economic, political and social) contributing to the transformation of the city.
Through the Atelier experience, students will acquire not only general design skills, but also specific knowledge and skills in economic evaluation of projects, which are compulsorily required for the Master's degree and can be obtained alternatively by attending the first-year "Economic evaluation of projects" theoretical course.
During the second Atelier, students will learn how to deal with implementation contexts in which the functional program is almost never explicit a priori but on the contrary, the "program project" is an integral part of the design process.
The urban project will therefore be seen as the in-progress outcome of the convergence and non-linear superimposition on the territory in a given historical moment of: 1) ideas and models of cities deriving from disciplinary culture and international debate; 2) formal acts of decision-makers, able to promote specific policies and strategic choices; 3) socio-economic conditions, understood as a wide-ranging assessment (financial and economic) and a quantification of the economic, social and environmental impacts of the transformation project.
Knowledge and skills will be conveyed through
- Mono and interdisciplinary lectures aimed at understanding complex problems;
- A case study based on a project exercise that will be the main ground for comparison on which the skills and competences gradually acquired by the student will be understood, applied, analyzed and assessed.
The case study of the second Atelier is chosen according to the general training objectives of the course, based on the numerous local and global challenges relating to the contemporary city. It may concern:
- the Italian context, where the investigation of the practical aspects of the transformation will be more in-depth;
- the international context, in which the comparison with the great processes of global urbanization and with the tensions and conflicts they produce at the level of individual local communities will be more important.
Through the project exercise the student will develop the ability to analyze the context of a major urban transformation, drawing on a wide and multiform repertoire of sources and data (cartographies, historical documents, statistical data, interviews), and consequently the ability to observe the territory with a view already oriented towards its transformation.
The ability to apply specific knowledge and skills in a coherent way with respect to the design process is defined through the acquisition of the following competences:
- mastering techniques, methodologies and professional knowledge specific to the work of the Architect;
- to know how to autonomously manage a complex urban project in a given time;
- to be able to build the collaboration and exchange with the other subjects involved in the design and transformation of the city.
Therefore, as in real implementation contexts, the student designer will be called upon to interact with various figures involved in professional practice and produce a project that will reproduce real negotiation practices, albeit in a necessarily simplified way.
The Atelier project experience is a simulation of concrete professional project operations. This path will be marked by intermediate milestones aimed at training students to respect frequent and progressive deadlines. Moreover it will be characterized by final assessments in the presence of external experts, who will have the task of building the necessary link between the didactic simulation and the external world of the profession.
At the end of the Atelier, the students will be able to:
- Apply specific knowledge placeable within the two disciplinary areas involved;
- Manage the integration of this knowledge within a holistic conception of the transformation project, understood as a vision of synthesis, within a given time frame;
- Analyze and question the transformation context by crossing the specific visions of the different disciplinary perspectives and actors involved in the transformation process;
- Understand and create descriptions of the territorial context that are not neutral, but bear unexplored, recognizable and arguable interpretations and critical positions.
A fundamental element of the assessment during the examination will be the student's ability to complete the planned work within a given timeframe such as the deadline assigned by the end of the semester.
This aspect constitutes a specific skill in the work of the architect, which will be tested during the final examination. This will take place in the first week of the session, immediately following the completion of the project unit.
During the second Atelier, students will learn how to deal with implementation contexts in which the functional program is almost never explicit a priori but on the contrary, the definition of the functional program is an integral part of the design process itself.
The urban project will therefore be seen as the in-progress outcome of the convergence and non-linear superimposition on the territory in a given historical moment of:
1) the anthropological foundation of the urban settlement, read through the criteria of urban morphology (in its Italian tradition of studies)
2) formal (and unformal) acts of decision-makers, able to determine specific policies and strategic choices;
3) ecological and socio-economic conditions, understood as a wide-ranging assessment (financial and economic) and a quantification of the economic, social and environmental impacts in the transformation project.
Knowledge and skills will be conveyed through:
- Mono and interdisciplinary lectures aimed at understanding complex urban problems;
- A case study based on a project exercise that will be the main ground for comparison on which the skills and competences gradually acquired by the student will be understood, applied, analyzed and assessed.
The case study of the second Atelier is chosen according to the general training objectives of the course, based on the numerous local and global challenges relating to the contemporary city.
It may concern contexts, in which the comparison with the major processes of global urbanization and with the tensions and conflicts they produce at the level of individual local communities will be relevant and deeply considered.
Through the project exercise the student will develop the ability to analyze the context of a major urban transformation, drawing on a wide and multiform repertoire of sources (cartographies and data) and consequently the ability to observe the urban form with a view already oriented towards its transformation.
The ability to apply specific knowledge and skills in a coherent way with respect to the design process is defined through the acquisition of the following competences:
- mastering techniques, methodologies and professional knowledge specific to the work of the architect and urban designers;
- autonomously managing a complex urban project in a given time;
- building the collaboration and the exchange with the other subjects involved in design and transformation of cities.
Therefore, as in real implementation contexts, the student designer will be called upon to interact with various figures involved in professional practice and produce a project that will reproduce real negotiation practices, albeit in a necessarily simplified way.
The Atelier project experience is a simulation of real professional project operations. This path will be marked by intermediate milestones aimed at training students to respect frequent and progressive deadlines.
Moreover, it may be characterized by final assessments in the presence of external experts, who will have the task of building the necessary link between the didactic simulation and the external world of the profession.
At the end of the Atelier, the students will be able to:
- apply specific knowledge placeable within the two disciplinary areas involved;
- manage the integration of this knowledge within a holistic conception of the transformation project, understood as a vision of synthesis, within a given time frame;
- analyze and question the transformation context by crossing the specific visions of the different disciplinary perspectives and actors involved in the transformation process;
- understand and create descriptions of the territorial context that are not neutral, but bear unexplored, recognizable and arguable interpretations and critical positions.
A fundamental element of the assessment during the examination will be the student's ability to complete the planned work within a given timeframe such as the deadline assigned by the end of the semester.
This aspect constitutes a specific skill in the job of architectural and urban designers, which will be tested during the final examination. This will take place in the first week of the session, immediately following the completion of the project unit.
The critical and design skills and the basic notions and tools in Economic Evaluation of Projects are considered as already acquired in the disciplinary courses and in the project Ateliers of the three-year degree in "Architectural Sciences". The basic knowledge acquired during the Atelier of the first Didactic Period is also necessary in terms of: ability to analyze a complex decision-making problem of a territorial type; ability to independently manage and elaborate a complex architectural project.
The critical and design skills and the basic notions and tools in Economic Evaluation of Projects are considered as already acquired in the disciplinary courses and in the project Ateliers of the three-year degree in "Architectural Sciences", or in equivalent bachelor levels. The basic knowledge acquired during the Atelier of the first Didactic Period is also necessary in terms of: ability to analyze a complex decision-making problem of a territorial type; ability to independently manage and elaborate a complex architectural project.
The topic of the course concerns the reconversion of abandoned and disused parts of the city and the extension of recycling practices to the urban and territorial scalea; an issue that is getting more and more important and debated in the European context in the the last decades.
The first lectures will be dedicated to the construction of a critical framework of the topic, with specific reference to the urban and territorial transformations and paying particular attention to the relevant stakeholders and public decision makers who will be involved in a discussion with the students about the future scenarios for the area.
The second part of the course will concern the investigation of case studies in the domain of urban regeneration processes, with specific attention to the analysis of the creation of public/private partnerships for the realization of the projects.
Other lectures will be devoted to the study of emerging issues in urban design projects and evaluation and management of complex operations of urban/territorial transformation.
Mention has to be made to the fact that the lectures will be organized according to a interconnected structure, going back and forward from the analysis of general problems to the exam of specific issues related to the problem under examination.
The student will understand how to manage a complex urban regeneration operation, with specific reference to the followings elements: analysis of the site and historic-critical interpretation of the issues; identification of the relevant stakeholders and classification according to the main characteristics; interpretation of the main features of urban landscapes; evaluation of alternative scenarios of transformation; construction of a project proposal at urban and architectural scale.
The topic of the course concerns the regeneration of an urban sector characterized by specific urban fabrics, made by a clear catalogue of building typologies. The role of open spaces in urban texture together with the consideration of human behaves in daily use of spaces and buildings will play an important role in defining the framework of design questions in which the students will operate.
Great importance will be given to the analytical tools (traditional and innovative, from typo-morphological maps to QGIS), able to widely describe the urban sector object of the design activity.
The main part of the course will concern the investigation on the case study and the design exercise, with specific attention to the combination of the physical strategies of transformation and of the influence of social, economic and political emergencies.
The design experience will be driven through a series of specific lecture, in order to let the students follow a step by step experience.
The student will understand how to manage a complex urban regeneration operation, with specific reference to the following elements: analysis of the site and critical interpretation of the issues; identification of the relevant stakeholders and classification according to the main characteristics; interpretation of the main features of urban settlement (even in its ecological grounds); evaluation of alternative scenarios of transformation; construction of a project proposal at urban and architectural scale.
The organization of the course is meant to replicate, in a very simplified version, the structure of a normal professional work, where the students will play the role of the designers, engaged both in the overall masterplan conception and in the design of a focused area, and the teachers will play from time to time several roles (chief architects, technical consultants, political deciders, private investors, popular committe leaders etc.), according to the evolution of the work, in order to stimulate the reaction of the students/designers when facing different constraints.
Some lectures will also be proposed in partnership with external guests, in order to stimulate interdisciplinary discussions.
The work will be elaborated both in group and individually. The first phases of the work will be developed in working groups made of different students in order to create a internal debate about the fture of the area and to simulate a real world decision-making process; in this sense, the capacity of the students of interacting within the working group will have a particular importance. In the last part of the course the students will work in smaller groups and individually, in order to deepen a focus area of their overall proposal.
The first aim of the Atelier is practicing fundaments of spatial urban morphology in order to read urban spaces, urban infrastructures and artefacts. The second aim of the Atelier is using that reading activity in order to look for innovative design solutions for the contemporary city.
Based on the concepts of tectonics, typology and topography, the Atelier will let students investigate (through design activities as surveys, sketches, models, diagram) on the interplay between tradition and modernity in the general frame of the relationships with ecological and economic questions.
Master students will be asked to face some aspects of complexity concerning innovative building solutions, types mutations, changes in urban functions, and above all the topic of design process, in connection with the nowadays development of society, economy, sustainability.
Special buildings (as theatres, museums, library) and basic buildings (as housing) are two keywords coming from the Italian scholar Gianfranco Caniggia’s studies on the structure of the cities, made by residential urban fabrics (basic buildings, places for individual lives) and some special urban objects that are like specific points into the urban space (special buildings, places for collective moments).
The main idea supporting the teaching methods of the Atelier is that contemporary cities are quickly developing changing again and again their urban forms, starting from a known original morphology but going towards an unknown order. The study of the dynamics of urban shapes can be described as “transitional morphologies”. The work in the Atelier will be organized by weekly collective discussions about design development and Design Studio topics.
The design process will be defined as an incremental step-based process, which involves different stages, such as: diagnosis of the context, envisioning exercise and development of a number of design options, selection of a design alternative and implementation.
In the first part of the course (around 1 month) the students will be divided in some larger groups counting around 8-10 people. Each of them will be asked to prepare, in more or less 4 weeks: a general investigation about the case study and a design proposal for the overall masterplan.
At the end of this first phase the different masterplans will be presented by the groups, collectively discussed and then adopted by their respective groups. Every masterplan will be then divided into several plots, each of which will be assigned to a smaller group of 3 people, who will develop the project at the micro-urban scale and who will study 3 individual focus areas.
All this process will reproduce, in a very simplified way, the activity of a real urban transformation process, where the students will learn to dialogue with a number of solicitations, using the project as an instrument for discussin with every subject of the transformation.
The work will be elaborated both in group and individually. The first phases of the work will be developed in working groups made of different students in order to create an internal debate about the future of the area and to simulate decision-making processes: the capacity of the students of interacting within the working group will have a particular importance. In the last part of the course the students will work in smaller groups and individually, in order to deepen a focus area of their overall proposal.
Carmona M., 2003, Public places, urban spaces: the dimensions of urban design, Oxford, Boston, Architectural Press.
De Rossi A., (Ed.), 2009, GrandeScala. Architecture politic form, Barcellona, LIST-ACTAR.
Dobbins M., 2009, Urban design and people, Hoboken NJ, Wiley.
Fabian L., Munarin S., 2017, Re-Cycle Italy. Atlante, Siracusa: LetteraVentidue.
Nouvel J. et. al., 2009, Naissances et renaissances de mille et un bonheur parisiens, Consultation sur le Grand Pari de l?agglomeration parisienne.
Soja E. W., 2000, Postmetropolis: Critical Studies of Cities and Regions, Oxford, Blackwell Publishing.
Tachieva G., 2010, Sprawl Repair Manual, Washington-Covelo-London, Island Press.
BERGHAUSER PONT, M., HAUPT, P., Space Matrix. Density and Urban Form, nai010, Rotterdam 2021
BAO Li, TRISCIUOGLIO M., JIANG Lei, ZHAN Yang, Typological Permanencies and Urban Permutations, Design Studio of Re-generation in Hehua Tang Area, Nanjing, Southeast University Press, 2017
CANIGGIA G.F., MAFFEI, G.L., Interpreting basic buildings, Alinea, Firenze 2006 (1982)
CHEN F. and THWAITES K., Chinese Urban Design. The Typomorphological Approach, Ashgate, Farnham Burlington 2013
ROSSI, A., The Architecture of the City, (P.Eisenman ed.), MIT Press, Cambridge Mass. And London 1982 (or.it.ed. 1966)
TRISCIUOGLIO M., Nota sulle morfologie urbane transizionali come critica agli studi urbani in ambito cinese. La mappa tipologica di Hehua Tang a Nanchino / Note on the transitional urban morphologies as a criticism of urban studies in the chinese context. The typological map on Nanjing Hehua Tang, in “U+D urbanform and design”, n.13/2020
***
European Union (2014), Guide to Cost-Benefit Analysis of Investment Projects, European Commission, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban policy [https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/studies/pdf/cba_guide.pdf]
Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (2009), Multicriteria Analysis: a manual, Department for Communities and Local Government, London [http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/12761/1/Multi-criteria_Analysis.pdf]
Slides;
Lecture slides;
Modalità di esame: Prova orale obbligatoria; Elaborato progettuale individuale; Elaborato progettuale in gruppo;
Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual project; Group project;
...
Fully attendance and engagement in lectures, seminars, and further activities of the Atelier is a required precondition for the positive participation in the planned activities.
The final exam will take place in the first week of the examination session consecutive to the Atelier. In case the final design work is not completed on time or it is judged inadequate or incomplete, the student may submit the final project in the second examination session consecutive to the course. The final grade will consider the student capability to develop a complex architectural design in a given time.
The final evaluation will be individual and it will span throughout the whole of the available votes. The final mark will be decided by the professors of the Atelier and it will be based on the average of individual evaluations obtained in the single disciplines composing the Atelier.
List of the evaluation criteria:
1. INVESTIGATION OF THE PROJECT
Evaluating the ability to analyze and to return the context of the project, physical and social, through original elaborations. Evaluating the ability to manage the complexity of the information, provided by the teacher or found themselves, and to interpret the architectural context.
Criteria guiding:
- Reading and synthesis
- Interpretation and critical processing
- Return results
2. CONCEPTUALIZATION
Evaluating the ability to conceptualize an argued proposal, as a strategic answer to the identified problems from the inquiry. Evaluating the ability to describe the general aspects (repeatable) of the project and its feasibility in relation to the ordinary practices.
Criteria guiding:
- Clarity of argument
- Vision
- Autonomy in the elaboration of the proposal
3. ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT AND RESULTS
Evaluating the ability to develop, within an available time, a coherent project in the individual joints compared to a unitary interpretation, through a circular process (development / discussion / feedback). Evaluating the quality of the final result, as the last maturation of this process.
Criteria guiding:
- Critical capacity and self-criticism in the early stages of development
- Adaptation to the feedback of the mid-term reviews
- Completeness and quality of the final papers
4. COMMUNICATION
Evaluating the ability to represent and transmit the project, at all stages of the learning experience. It also evaluates the ability to communicate, in an integrated manner to the project and also in innovative ways, the specific aspects of different disciplines.
Criteria guiding:
- Compliance with the agreed rules of communication
- Conscious use of presentation tools
- Effectiveness of public presentation and discussion
5. DISCIPLINARY INTEGRATION
Evaluating the ability to identify disciplinary problems in a relevant way of the proposed project case. Evaluating the ability to intercept a complex design theme using cross-fertilization of knowledge.
Criteria guiding:
- Maturation of sufficient knowledge in both disciplines
- Disciplinary relevance of individual contributions in the project
- Integration of the two disciplines at different scales
Gli studenti e le studentesse con disabilità o con Disturbi Specifici di Apprendimento (DSA), oltre alla segnalazione tramite procedura informatizzata, sono invitati a comunicare anche direttamente al/la docente titolare dell'insegnamento, con un preavviso non inferiore ad una settimana dall'avvio della sessione d'esame, gli strumenti compensativi concordati con l'Unità Special Needs, al fine di permettere al/la docente la declinazione più idonea in riferimento alla specifica tipologia di esame.
Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual project; Group project;
Fully attendance and engagement in lectures, seminars, and further activities of the Atelier is highly recommended.
The final exam will take place in the first week of the examination session consecutive to the Atelier. In case the final design work is not completed on time or it is judged inadequate or incomplete, the student may submit the final project in the second examination session consecutive to the course. The final grade will consider the student capability to develop a complex architectural design in a given time.
The final evaluation will be individual and it will span throughout the whole of the available votes. The final mark will be decided by the professors of the Atelier and it will be based on the average of individual evaluations obtained in the single disciplines composing the Atelier.
List of the evaluation criteria:
1. INVESTIGATION OF THE PROJECT
Evaluating the ability to analyze and to return the context of the project, physical and social, through original elaborations. Evaluating the ability to manage the complexity of the information, provided by the teacher or found themselves, and to interpret the architectural context.
Criteria guiding:
- Reading and synthesis
- Interpretation and critical processing
- Return results
2. CONCEPTUALIZATION
Evaluating the ability to conceptualize an argued proposal, as a strategic answer to the identified problems from the inquiry. Evaluating the ability to describe the general aspects (repeatable) of the project and its feasibility in relation to the ordinary practices.
Criteria guiding:
- Clarity of argument
- Vision
- Autonomy in the elaboration of the proposal
3. ARCHITECTURAL DEVELOPMENT OF PROJECT AND RESULTS
Evaluating the ability to develop, within an available time, a coherent project in the individual joints compared to a unitary interpretation, through a circular process (development / discussion / feedback). Evaluating the quality of the final result, as the last maturation of this process.
Criteria guiding:
- Critical capacity and self-criticism in the early stages of development
- Adaptation to the feedback of the mid-term reviews
- Completeness and quality of the final papers
4. COMMUNICATION
Evaluating the ability to represent and transmit the project, at all stages of the learning experience. It also evaluates the ability to communicate, in an integrated manner to the project and also in innovative ways, the specific aspects of different disciplines.
Criteria guiding:
- Compliance with the agreed rules of communication
- Conscious use of presentation tools
- Effectiveness of public presentation and discussion
5. DISCIPLINARY INTEGRATION
Evaluating the ability to identify disciplinary problems in a relevant way of the proposed project case. Evaluating the ability to intercept a complex design theme using cross-fertilization of knowledge.
Criteria guiding:
- Maturation of sufficient knowledge in both disciplines
- Disciplinary relevance of individual contributions in the project
- Integration of the two disciplines at different scales
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.