FINAL SINTHESIS STUDIO-LABORATORY D
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2019/2020
- Teacher
- ROMEO FARINELLA
- Credits
- 24
- Didactic period
- Annualità Singola
Training objectives
- Learning objectives
The Urban Planning Lab addresses the key issues raised by the evolution and changes in the socio-economic and environmental context. In particular, it examines the role of planning as a tool for critically reading and designing contemporary urban transformations, within the perspective of sustainable development.
The educational approach aims to support complex thinking, while facilitating an interdisciplinary approach, working in team. Fundamental aspects of the course deal with the investigation of the main issues related to contemporary urban dynamics, thus encouraging cognitive and comparative methodologies also based on international comparison.
The different courses composing the LSFD are 4, articulated as follow:
Urban design ( ICAR/21 - 96 hrs)
In-depth analysis of the main issues concerning the contemporary dynamics of urbanization. Study of the objectives, methods and tools of urban design, and urban and territorial regeneration.
Strategic Planning (ICAR/20 - 60 hrs)
In-depth study of the issues concerning the relationships between urban planning, economic planning, and strategic planning of the urban environment, at the different scales.
Urban Sociology (SPS/10 – 20 hrs)
This course aims at teaching the fundamentals of urban sociology in a theoretical, historic and empiric perspective, while discussing the issues of contemporary cities.
Environmental, Urban and Territorial Restoration and Renovation (ICAR/21 - 20 hrs)
Theoretical reflections and operational/design inputs on the issues of re-generation in its wider meaning, at European level.
Territorial and Landscape Planning (ICAR/21 - 20 hrs)
The course will deepen theoretical aspects and design-applied issues related to the project of open spaces, both natural and artificial, in an interdisciplinary perspective.
As for supplementary activities granting the 'F credits', students of the LSF will have to participate to professional activities in either architecture firms or technical offices of public authorities. Internship activities could also be proposed by students.
Basic required knowledge:
- Critical interpretation of the urban context as a complex, historical phenomenon;
- Awareness and knowledge of contemporary urban re-generation issues at national and international level;
- Understanding and awareness of contemporary phenomena of urban growth and sprawl;
Required skills:
- Knowledge of the theoretical and operational approaches aiming at the formulation of urban planning
strategies and urban re-generation projects;
- Ability of processing analytical and synthetic frameworks, necessary for the understanding of the
dynamics of urban transformation;
- knowledge of digital systems of rendering, graphic processing, rasterization (e.g. InDesign, Autocad);
- Independent development of both individual and group work methods in the field of urban design;
- knowledge of participatory design approaches and methodologies;
- Knowledge of at least two foreign languages, given the increased international job offer for those involved in urban planning. Prerequisites
- Students must have acquired and assimilated the knowledge provided by the courses:
- Urbanism;
- Urban Design Lab (LAU*);
- Territorial Organization and Planning (OPT).
- Theory of Construction.
* The Urban Design Lab is considered as a preparatory course. Course programme
- The main topic of the LSF D is "City and Territory: spaces of the public and sustainable development", articulated in the following sub-themes:
1. The city of tomorrow between environmental protection and urban re-qualification, re-functionalization needs and new social demands of urban quality;
2. The role of historic and cultural heritage in the built environment and landscape, within the urban development dynamics of the post-industrial era, with special attention to local development policies;
3. Territorial, landscape and built environment's re-qualification, between infrastructural interventions, new sources of energy and climate changes.
The integrated course is made by the five modules already listed in the "Learning Objectives", with 216 teaching hours on a total of 500 hours. The non-teaching hours are dedicated to projects' reviews, field visits and surveys of the study areas, and practice exercises.
The above-mentioned course's main topic represent a field of study broad enough to allow multiple analytical and design developments, while delimiting a rather defined disciplinary approach, with no reference to specific geographical areas, regions or cities.
The main topic relates to the common fields of interest and research of the teaching staff, and allows the strengthening of a closer relationship between research activities and teaching, both aiming to the drafting of the students' master theses.
The various issues addressed by the students' theses will be developed through the different courses of the Laboratory, with specific theoretical and methodological contributions (which are part of the teaching hours), as well as with practice exercises and seminars in order to deepen specific technical and operational aspects. A special attention will be given to the interdisciplinary approach, with the involvement of internal and external staff and experts.
Starting from the second semester, together with the Professors of the 4 courses, the academic board will also be represented by the different students' supervisors directly following their master theses; these other Professors will also participate to the seminars and theses reviews, with procedures and timing to be determined.
The choice of the thesis' topics and case-studies is free, but must be consistent with the main themes proposed by the Lab.
Each thesis should adopt a preliminary analytical-interpretative framework, then develop a design strategy and, ultimately, deepen a design topic or area. The scale of the project is that of urban and/or territorial design; the different courses will provide useful elements and reflections in order to develop the final projects. In particular, the courses of Urban Sociology, Environmental, Urban and Territorial Restoration and Renovation and Territorial and Landscape Planning will support the analytical phase, with diversified competences and approaches, while Strategic Planning will be taught along with the definition of the project strategy and the resulting relations with the design focus of each work. The Urban Design course will have the main task of monitoring and guide the development of the planning stages of the theses, also contributing - during the analytical steps - to the definition of the interpretative approach within the investigated context.
The issues addressed by the various courses and the proposed approaches and methodologies have the aim to support students in the elaboration of their urban projects, being aware of the complexity of all factors - historical and cultural, social and economic - which determine the structure and shape of the city. Didactic methods
- The LSFD is organized as follows:
- lectures (in class) on all the course's subjects;
- practice exercises proposed by each module, as part of their teaching load;
- conferences held by external experts;
- periodic checks and reviews on the progresses of the theses (two per semester) conducted as seminars;
- public presentations of the work done by the students. Learning assessment procedures
- The final exam consists in a qualifying examination, determining whether the student is ready for the discussion of his/her thesis. Being a course that guides the student through the elaboration of the master thesis, merit assessment of the design choices will be given to the Graduate Commission.
All 5 Professors, and especially the course coordinator (Pro. Farinella), will pass the student's qualifying examination during regular examination sessions, only after checking:
- regular participation to class activities and lessons;
- participation to the two main reviews/seminars conducted at the end of each semester;
- participation to planned project reviews;
- the assessment of a satisfactory level of detail of the thesis work.
The qualifying examination consists in a presentation to the committee, composed by Lab's Professors, on the advancement of the thesis project, and a discussion about the carried out work and the learning process developed within the laboratory. Reference texts
- Amin A., Thrift N.(2005), Città. Ripensare la dimensione urbana. Bologna, il Mulino.
G. Ave ( a cura di) (2003), Sostenibilità ambientale e rigenerazione urbana, Alinea Editrice, 2003.
Borgogni A., Farinella R. (2017), La città attiva. Percorso pubblici nel corpo urbano, Franco Angeli Milano
Calvino I. (1988), Lezioni americane. Sei proposte per il nuovo millennio, Garzanti, Milano.
Farinella R. (2018), Hors les murs. Strategie e progetti per la Grand Paris, Aracne, Roma.
Mezzi P., Pelizzaro P. (2016), La città resiliente, Altraeconomia, Milano.
Morin E. (2016), Sette lezioni sul pensiero globale, Raffaello Cortina, Milano.
Roger A.(2009), Breve trattato sul paesaggio, Palermo, Sellerio.
Secchi B. (2005), La città del ventesimo secolo, Laterza, Roma-Bari.
Secchi B. (2013), La città dei ricchi e la città dei poveri, Roma-Bari.
Settis S. (2017), Architettura e democrazia. Paesaggio, città, diritti civili, Einaudi, Torino.
