AIMS AND CONTENT

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The architect is recognized as having professional competence in the field of planning and government of the territory. This competence is applied both in defining land uses and methods of implementing interventions consistent with public policies (drawing up plans), and in formulating development scenarios and strategies compatible with the resources and congruent with the potential of the territories (developing programs and projects interacting with the communities concerned and with other specialists). This teaching is mainly dedicated to the second aspect and makes use of integration with Estimate to simulate a design process of territorial impact in its various phases and components.

On the basis of the notions learned in the bachelor course and the insights and knowledge provided in this teaching, the student will be guided to refine their skills to critically observe the territory, carry out investigations and apply analysis tools, conceive and elaborate proposals of re-development in a perspective of appropriateness, concreteness and sustainability of the interventions.

Upon completion of the teaching, the student will be able:

• to autonomously set up the study of a territory;

• to identify the essential components of a territory through surveys and direct experience;

• to develop intervention proposals consistent with the characteristics of the territory;

• to validate and argue the proposals on the basis of the knowledge of the territory acquired;

• to illustrate a project proposal also to an audience of non-experts.

TEACHING METHODS

The "learning by doing" criterion, which underlies the entire master degree course, is pursued by refining skills and applying new knowledge and tools in the course of exercises carried out by students both individually and in groups of 2-3 members.

The lessons and the first exercises are preparatory to the case study, in which the contributions of the two disciplines (Urban Planning and Estimate) are integrated. The case study is aimed at developing context-sensitive design skills, according to a mainly inductive learning process.

The teaching consists of:

• ex cathedra lessons, in which the teacher deals with general issues of urban planning, defines the theoretical assumptions with which the case study will be addressed and provides concepts specifically aimed at carrying out the other planned activities,

• application of teaching and experimentation of techniques, by carrying out exercises under the supervision of the teacher,

• research and processing of data on the case study, which students carry out with the guidance of the teacher, preferably in the classroom, with the aid of a personal computer,

• direct experience of the case study through inspections, surveys and meetings with qualified and expert witnesses, carried out with the teacher or independently,

• discussion of the proposals developed with the teachers of both modules.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

In the first part of the semester, the module includes lessons in which the teacher provides theoretical assumptions and tools for a case study that is carried out in common with the Estimate module.

The lessons cover:

• the problems of contemporary urbanization and their particular declination in the Italian and Ligurian context,

• urban regeneration actions, also with reference to the current regulatory framework,

• the tools needed to tackle exercises and case studies,

• the territory under study, examined from the point of view of the urban planner.

The participation of qualified experts and witnesses is expected, in order to present problems and projects concerning the case study.

Case study - Program common to the two modules

Theme. Rebuilding the territory

The current uncertainties about the future of metropolitan areas suggest worrying scenarios but also open prospects for new development. This is especially true for apparently marginal and neglected territories, where the evolution of integrated economies and alternative lifestyles that connect local and global, proximity and distancing, individual growth and the construction of citizenship can be envisaged. In these contexts, the architect-urban planner with his/her project can unveil values and propose strategies to put local resources back into circulation, involving the inhabitants in the construction of new landscapes where city and countryside can integrate again.

Object. Valbisagno, a territory in transition

Valbisagno is an Apennine valley rich in different environments due to the variety of exposure and altimetry and the complex settlement events. Mainly included in the Municipality of Genoa, it represents the most immediate hinterland, intrinsically linked to the dynamics of the city since ancient times. In the metropolitan context, it can be observed as a territory of morphological, functional and environmental transition: from the dense building fabric to the scattered rural settlement, to natural areas; from industrial production to services, to the distribution of consumer goods, to free time; from urban centrality to the most extreme periphery. The portion of the valley on which the exercise takes place is the slope between Molassana and Prato, a marginal area in the metropolitan context that deserves particular interest for its richness and variety of values, for its strategic location between the city and the mountains, for the presence of a lively social fabric and as it is affected by transformation processes.

Method

The study is aimed at defining strategies and projects for a transition towards uses and forms of living that produce new forms of development and new landscapes.

The study is divided into three phases (which correspond to the way the final product will be organized for presentation):

1) analysis of a portion of the valley; recognition of potential and critical issues, definition of development scenarios,

2) identification of a preferable scenario and development of a project strategy,

3) development and evaluation of an intervention proposal that pursues the chosen strategy.

The development scenarios will be evaluated taking into account the effects in terms of:

• quality of public space: open spaces, greenery, services,

• quality of living: forms of settlement, housing,

• accessibility and usability of common and private spaces,

• inclusion and participation of the inhabitants in decision making and landscape management,

• creation of jobs and possible new activities that enhance local resources.

In coherence with the theoretical assumptions of the teaching, the proposals must favour the reuse, the recovery of abandoned or underused buildings and areas, the resettlement in abandoned territories.

Final product

For the purposes of the exam, the work will be organized in a Ppoint presentation containing:

• the description of the case study and the context of the project proposal, through reading and interpretation of the area under investigation, identification of development potential, definition of scenarios,

• the illustration of an intervention strategy (with possible references to models and exemplary cases) that identifies the areas, defines the design themes, the tools that can be used, the actions to be pursued,

• a design proposal, through the elaboration of a master plan (at a scale of 1: 5,000 or more detailed), diagrams and representations that specify the contents in the appropriate scales, arguments and feasibility assessments.

It is optional the elaboration of a printable album in A3 format that contains the attachments that are deemed useful for a more complete documentation of the work done (data, documents, photographs, intermediate documents, etc.)

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ROBERTO BOBBIO (President)

MARCO LARI

PAOLO ROSASCO

CHIARA VACCARO

LUCA VOLPIN

LESSONS

LESSONS START

https://corsi.unige.it/9915/p/studenti-orario

Class schedule

The timetable for this course is available here: Portale EasyAcademy

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The exam is oral and consists in the presentation of a case study that will give rise to a discussion and further questions.

The discussion will focus on the theoretical assumptions and the results obtained in the work; the questions may concern the working method followed, the analysis and methods of investigation, the criteria for choosing the design hypotheses, the motivations and the degree of feasibility of the proposals.

To access the exam, the student must have delivered the intermediate exercises and participated in the presentations of the partial results of the work during the semester. Students who are unable to attend are required to carry out intermediate checks (in presence or remotely) to be agreed with the teachers.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

Through the presentation, the student's ability to represent, describe and argue with appropriate techniques and in a clear and convincing way a project proposal of territorial impact will be assessed.

Through the project the student will have to demonstrate:

• to be able to set up and conduct the analysis of a territory, using the techniques and tools provided during the course,

• to be able to describe the territory studied, indicating its distinctive features and assessing its problems and values,

• to know how to develop and select intervention hypotheses in line with the findings.

During the exam, questions will allow to deepen the degree of achievement of the training objectives.

Since the teaching includes exercises and intermediate tests of the level of learning and the development of the case study, the commitment and profit are evaluated over the semester, taking into account the progress achieved and the contribution of the individual to the work group.

Exam schedule