48295 - Architectural and Urban Composition

Learning outcomes

The module provides students with the skills to intervene within a large metropolis by developing design proposals aimed at the reuse or new construction of public and/or residential buildings. At the end of the module, after an initial analytical phase and a second operational phase, students are able to understand the methods of architectural intervention at the neighbourhood, urban block and single building levels, and are able to propose design strategies in the identified study areas.

Course contents

The degree lab ‘Projects for the Metropolis: Berlin 2050’ aims to investigate development and transformation scenarios for the city of Berlin through reuse and transformation strategies. The architectural composition module of the Berlin 2050-degree course will address the issue of the crisis of urban spaces in the center of Berlin. After an analytical phase to understand the urban fabric, the incidence of empty spaces and the needs related to the context, the design phase will focus on the study areas identified during the analytical phase and their possible transformation. A significant example is provided by the huge number of shopping centers and office buildings which, due to their size and location, offer interesting ideas for design reflection. Avoiding a process of continuous gentrification, proliferation of places for consumption and profit-driven real estate actions, the design proposals will be oriented towards a transformation into services, collective spaces, and cultural centers.

Readings/Bibliography

Oswald Mathias Ungers, Berlin 1995. Planungsmodelle für eine Fünfmillionenstadt im Übergang zu den siebziger Jahren, Technische Universität Berlin, 1969.

Oswald Mathias Ungers, Die Stadt in der Stadt: Berlin das grüne Stadtarchipel: ein stadträumliches Planungskonzept für die zuküngtige - Entwicklung Berlins, Studioverlag für Architektur L. Ungers, 1977.

Philipp Oswalt, Berlino città senza forma. Strategie per un'altra architettura, Booklet Milano, 2006.

A detailed bibliography will be provided during the course.

Teaching methods

The course is organised through lectures, seminars, and laboratory activities with practical exercises applying the concepts learned.

An initial analytical phase will be developed to define knowledge, then, once a study area has been identified, a project will be developed on an urban and architectural scale.

Assessment methods

The examination of the teaching module will be taken jointly with the modules of the degree laboratory, and the assessment for suitability will take into account the results achieved in the various activities of the laboratory itself. Suitability will combine the assessment of the design exercises developed within the individual teaching modules and an oral discussion on the contents of the activities carried out during the course.

The exam assessment will depend on the quality of the exercises and the discussion of their presentation, with references to the course bibliography. In addition to design and representation techniques, particular importance will be given to the ability to use appropriate and correct disciplinary terminology.

The exam will be preceded by a seminar, which all course participants are required to attend. At the end of the seminar, students who have completed the required assignments (details of which will be provided at the beginning of the course) will be eligible to take the exam. The exam will consist of the presentation of the analysis and project work. The quality of the presentation, the knowledge acquired, the theoretical depth, the correctness of the project and the quality of the assignments will be taken into consideration.

Teaching tools

Each student should have the tools needed to work on the project, both for hand drawing and digital drawing. All drawings and documents will be developed based on a layout that will be provided at the start of the course. Architectural models will be developed.

The relevant teaching materials will be made available to students in digital format on the UNIBO VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT platform (https://virtuale.unibo.it/).

Office hours

See the website of Annalisa Trentin