Architect
Function in aprofessional context:
Graduates from this degreeprogramme are architects who owns the capacity to actively participate in thepromotion, design and implementation of sustainable building works. They have specificarchitectural competencies in reading and interpreting the specific physical,cultural and socio-economic contexts, and are dearly skilled in the formulationof effective design strategies consistent with the needs of the different involvedstakeholders, particularly when a significant degree of creativity is requiredto offer non-conventional solutions. This corresponds to the functions ofarchitectural designer, design advisor and design manager who may also fill therole of City curator and Resilient transition designer, with relation to thekey features of the interventions to be designed and main contexts where theacquired competencies are applied, according to the purposes and given learningoutcomes.
The second cyclegraduates in Architecture and creative practices for the city and landscape areskilful to:
- Measure, analyse and assess thekey physical, cultural, social, historical and environmental elements of the built environment, including themonumental heritage, identifying any needs for its protection and potentialtransformation while defining methods and tools for its feasible enhancement;
- Participate and coordinate,interdisciplinary working groups for the promotion and implementation ofactions to transform the built environment, in compliance with the principlesof environmental and social sustainability and the goals of circular economy and resilience, byintegrating the needs of the different stakeholders into the intervention schemes;
- Contribute to the definition ofintervention strategies, coordinating the design decision-making processes andthe various participants involved;
- Design complex building systemsof new constructions or redevelopments, up to district scale, which are able tomeet the needs for functional and expressive quality as well as those for environmentaland economic sustainability. This by integrating the needs for architecture,technology and structural safety, and applying the required authorisationprocedures.
Competenciesassociated to the function:
The competencies are associatedwith specialist functions that are also cross-functional and managerial inscope.
The definition of interventionstrategies and complex design solutions in the architectural field is onespecific feature of these professional figures, particularly with relation to processesbased on public-private partnerships and participatory design. The competenciesassociated with the role include therefore:
- Cultural knowledge, enablingthem to read and interpret physical, socio-cultural and environmental contextsand understand their structural features, need for protection and potential forenhancement;
- Analytical and instrumentalcompetencies aimed at appropriately understanding the multi-scale dimension ofarchitectural design - from the territory to the building component - as wellas the social and technical implications and environmental context it interactswith, for the purposes of defining coherent architectural solutions usingupdated design methods to produce design outcomes, intended to be effectivelyintegrated with the contribution of other specialists within amultidisciplinary team;
- Knowledge of processes,relations, laws and regulations with a view to correctly identifying therelations between businesses, social organisations, the third sector and thepublic administration; as well as the ability to appropriately structureinteractions with the various parties involved in the processes managed by thesecond cycle graduate and to oversee the authorisation procedures required forthe implementation of the works.
Careeropportunities:
Career opportunities for thesesecond cycle graduates cover a number of positions in the job market including::a) freelance professional architect, also appointed via competitive selections,for the provision of design and consulting services, also in charge of orcoordinating a team, for both private and public clients and the third sector,b) architect employed by private companies, the third sector and public bodies,also in management roles.
The skills developed in draftingcomplex built environment transformation programmes and projects allowsgraduates, working as independent freelance professionals or as employees, toorganically tackle technical, organisational and regulatory problems, also inthe following roles:
- Designer-consultant of project's developers /proposers inpublic-private partnership, integrating the design team and contributing to thedefinition and development of the proposal, planning its full implementation;
- Consultant for Associations,Foundations and non-profit organisations in participatory design processes, asdesigner of works and/or evaluator of third party proposals and negotiator ofjoint design solutions;
- Technical officer for localpublic administrations, bodies and public companies working in the cultural,social, building and infrastructure sectors, as architect, appointed torepresent the interests of the public bodies, of working as an activecounterparty for private promoters in public-private partnership projects,drafting design solutions for public works.
