AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to explore the concepts of aura, identity, and threshold, applying them to the architectural and urban scales.

Main objectives:
[1] To cultivate aesthetic and perceptual sensitivity through the conscious practice of “learning to see” architecture. Careful observation of the built environment and the subsequent verbal and graphic description of lived experiences enhance the level of detail we are able to perceive. In turn, the way we perceive the world shapes how we express and communicate what we feel. Students will thus develop a more nuanced and complete understanding of their spatial experiences, approaching those atmospheric-sensorial dimensions—invisible, intangible, and ineffable—that give form to the unique and distinctive character of every architectural and urban interaction: their aura.

[2] To develop design skills through the architectural paradigm of the threshold, extending its analysis to the urban scale. Focusing on the composition of the fundamental elements of architecture (those which, throughout history, have maintained continuity of use and meaning while adapting to diverse contextual and sociocultural contexts) students will be asked to design a transitional space functioning as an urban threshold: a gateway capable of mediating between inside and outside, public and private, individual experience and collective dimension, neighborhood and city.

Transversal objectives:
[3] To provide tools for the critical reading and interpretation of spatial forms and urban phenomena, with a particular focus on twentieth-century architectural heritage in Genoa.

[4] To refine the ability to represent and communicate architectural design, through the use of diverse expressive languages.

[5] To introduce and integrate notions of atmospheric phenomenography, enriching the design approach with a deeper awareness of the sensorial and immaterial dimensions of architecture

TEACHING METHODS

The one-semester course includes lectures delivered by the instructor and guest speakers (including researchers, professionals, and photographers), complemented by design exercises to be carried out both individually and in groups. At the end of the course, an intensive workshop (minimum duration: one week) is planned, dedicated to the preparation of the final exam, including project refinement and finalization of graphic materials.

Main assignments:
[1] Analysis of the assigned case study and identification of the intervention area. To refine students’ phenomenological, expressive, and communicative awareness, each participant will be asked to produce a dossier containing photographs, axonometric diagrams and atmospheric-sensorial maps. The instructor will provide tools for the historical and authorial contextualization of the architectural and urban case studies examined.

[2] Design of an urban gateway. Supported by introductory lectures, site visits with experts, and documentation of the existing conditions, students will develop an independent and structured design proposal. The project intends to emphasize the atmospheric dimension of experiencing and conceiving architecture. The final output will include architectural drawings and models, addressing multiple scales of investigation (from the urban context to detailed design) and responding to compositional, functional, and structural requirements.

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Students with a valid certification of physical or learning disabilities, officially registered with the University, who wish to discuss potential accommodations or other aspects related to classes, coursework, or exams, are required to contact both the course instructor and the Disability Services Coordinator of the Department of Architecture and Design (https://architettura.unige.it/commissioni_e_referenti_dipartimento).

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The urban form of Genoa, compressed between the sea and a porous mass of hills, offers a unique spatial and perceptual experience, shaped over time by cycles of growth, stasis, decline, and revival. The profound transformations that took place at the end of the nineteenth century made explicit the tension between the ancient and the modern city, a dialectic that finds a paradigmatic expression in the central area of Piccapietra: an urban island with a triangular shape, bounded by the nineteenth-century interventions of Via XX Settembre to the south, Galleria Giuseppe Mazzini to the west, and the Acquasola esplanade to the east. The complete reconstruction of the Piccapietra district, facilitated by wartime damage, gave form to a controversial urban vision, intensely debated and now in evident crisis. Among the contributing factors to this condition are a weak connection with the surrounding urban fabric and an introverted permeability, both of which undermine the site’s legibility and sense of place. Through the study of projects by key figures of twentieth-century Italian architecture (including Franco Albini, Franca Helg, Luigi Carlo Daneri, Mario Labò, Aldo Rossi, and Luigi Vietti) students will gain familiarity with the city’s modern architectural heritage and will be asked to propose strategies to mitigate Piccapietra’s isolation, currently perceived as an enclave of residences and offices. In the final design phase, students will be invited to conceive a new urban gateway, capable of restoring the site’s identity and expressing its aura, serving as a symbolic and spatial threshold between the neighborhood and the city.

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In addition to the general course program, which will be presented before the start of the semester, each design assignment will be accompanied by a specific brief, to be discussed in class, clarifying its objectives, tools, and operative methods.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bloomer, K.C., & Moore, C.W., with Yudell, R.J. (1977). Body, Memory, and Architecture. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Bonini, V., Canepa, E., & Scelsi, V. (Eds.). (2021–ongoing). Guide di architettura contemporanea genovese. Genova: Sagep.

Canepa, E. (2022). Architecture is Atmosphere: Notes on Empathy, Emotions, Body, Brain, and Space. Atmospheric Spaces, 11. Milano & Udine: Mimesis International.

Forty, A. (2005). Parole e edifici: Un vocabolario per l’architettura moderna. Bologna: Pendragon.

Kolbitz, K. (Ed.). (2017). Entryways of Milan. Cologne: Taschen.

Koolhaas, R., AMO, Harvard Graduate School of Design, & Westcott, J. (Eds.). (2014). Elements: A Series of 15 Books Accompanying the Exhibition "Elements of Architecture" at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. Venice: Marsilio.

Neutra, R.J. (1954). Survival through Design. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Norberg-Schulz, C. (1971). Existence, Space, and Architecture. London: Studio Vista.

Pallasmaa, J. (2005). The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses. London: Wiley.

Pérez-Gómez, A. (2016). Attunement: Architectural Meaning after the Crisis of Modern Science. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Perogalli, C. (1960). Atrii di case. Milano: Görlich.

Tidwell, P. (Ed.). (2014). Architecture and Atmosphere. Espoo: Tapio Wirkkala–Rut Bryk Foundation.

Zevi, B. (1948). Saper vedere l’architettura: Saggio sull’interpretazione spaziale dell’architettura. Torino: Einaudi.

Zumthor, P. (2006). Atmospheres: Architectural Environments. Surrounding Objects. Basel: Birkhäuser

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Following the 2025/2026 academic calendar.

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The final exam will be an oral test covering all exercises completed during the semester. Each student will present their work, with grading based on content quality, project progress, accuracy in representation, and presentation skills, as well as attendance and active participation in lectures, reviews, and workshops.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The final exam will assess the contributions presented, following criteria defined by the instructor and shared in advance, with consideration of the entire semester’s work. Critiques with external guests will offer a platform for constructive feedback, where students are expected to demonstrate the critical and design skills they’ve acquired.