93637 - Architecture and Architectural Design Studio T-1

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student has acquired a basic knowledge of the theoretical aspects as well as the tools for setting up and controlling architectural design.

Course contents

In considering architecture as a synthesis of a cultural process starting from the value of permanence of some archetypal forms, the course is based on the conviction that the project needs a cognitive work, in which the study of the theory and the exemplary work of some masters is defined as a prerequisite for the understanding of contemporary thought.

It is necessary, therefore, in the formation of a personal ideative process, a teaching of architecture based on the use of forms and types handed down from history, to that already done considered in its unitary dimension and as a set of parts that can be analyzed according to elements: those constituent elements able to define different qualities of architectural space and organized following a precise order dictated by the rules of composition.

Course contents

The activity of the course, privileging the spatial aspects of the project, will focus in a first phase on the study of selected works of architecture, defining their cultural horizon through the knowledge of the theories of composition that generated them and then move towards the formulation of design proposals for a small architectural organism.

The theme of the course is the dwelling, studied in its multiple declinations, in particular residential architecture will be investigated that, going beyond reductive historical or modernist references, will tend to demonstrate the absolute value of some formal principles of architecture regardless of naively stylistic definitions.

The course is divided into three parts:

- a cycle of theoretical lectures held by the teachers of the courses

- a cognitive phase based on critical/analytical exercises

- a design application phase of the knowledge acquired.

The course will be punctuated by a series of seminars, reviews and presentations of the progress of the graphic designs and study models produced.

The activity carried out by the students is aimed at the production of graphic elaborations and models based on recognizable theoretical principles. In the first phase the student, supported by didactic and bibliographical material provided by the teachers, will dedicate himself to a case study, trying to understand, through redesign and three-dimensional reconstruction, the rules, proportions, geometry and design theme. The student, identifying parts and constituent elements of the architecture and retracing the choices that led to the application of these elements, will verify the transition from principles to language, recognizing the project as a significant result of a theoretical construction, which can be defined not through simple operations of invention, but following precise disciplinary principles. The assumption of grammatical and syntactical elements, as an acquisition not so much of rules as of method, will allow the compositional control of these elements, necessary to define the entire architectural organism.

In a second phase the student will carry out an architectural project on the theme of housing, demonstrating the understanding of the knowledge transmitted by the theoretical lessons and the study and representation techniques used in the critical redesign carried out in the first part of the course.

Readings/Bibliography

A specific bibliography will be provided during the course; for a theoretical overview of the topics dealt with during the year, we recommend reading the following books:

- C. Rowe, The Mathematics of the Ideal Villa and Other Essays, MIT Press, 1976;

- O. M. Ungers, Architecture as theme, Quaderni di Lotus, Electa, Milan 1982;

- L. Quaroni, Progettare un edificio. Otto lezioni di architettura, Kappa, Rome, 2001;

- P. Eisenman, The Formal Basis of Modern Architecture, Lars Müller Publisher, 2006;

Teaching methods

The course is organized in cycles of frontal theoretical lectures and a series of application exercises of the notions acquired having as subject themes or prefixed objects.

Assessment methods

The examination will be based on the quality of the work and the discussion of the topics covered during the lessons, with references to the course bibliography. In addition to drawing and representation techniques, particular importance will be assigned to the student's ability to use appropriate and correct disciplinary terminology, both during the presentation of his work and through the elaboration of written texts.

The examination will be preceded by a seminar, in which all course participants are required to participate.

All the materials below are mandatory to take the exam:

- tables, models and booklet with the collection of materials of analytical work.

- tables, models and booklet of the design practice

At the end of the seminar, the student who has completed the required entries can sustain the exam (the details of the entries will be given at the beginning of the course). Specifically, the exam will be held with the presentation of the required graphic materials related to the analysis and the project.

The presentation, which is a moment of the exam, will be articulated with the presentation of the entries by the student with particular reference to the contents of the lessons and the bibliography.

The examination committee will assign the student the grade following an evaluation grid that will consider the quality of the exhibition, the knowledge acquired, the theoretical in-depth study, the correctness of the project and the quality of the works.

Teaching tools

Each student will have to equip himself with the tools for the development of the project: sheets of paper A4, A3, A1 and hand drawing tools. Students will also have to equip themselves with the materials for the realization of architectural models, according to the indications that will be provided in the lesson. If in presence, students will be required to wear personal protective equipment.

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Trentin

See the website of Matteo Agnoletto

See the website of Antje Freiesleben