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CODE 107022
ACADEMIC YEAR 2024/2025
CREDITS
SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR ICAR/14
LANGUAGE Italian
TEACHING LOCATION
  • GENOVA
SEMESTER 1° Semester
SECTIONING Questo insegnamento è diviso nelle seguenti frazioni:
  • A
  • B
  • C
  • PREREQUISITES
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    TEACHING MATERIALS AULAWEB

    AIMS AND CONTENT

    AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

    AIMS AND LEARNING OUTOCOMES

    The course, titled “Threshold Architectures: Genoa and Its Entryways,” has two main objectives:

    [1] to nurture students’ aesthetic sensitivity by training them to look at architecture. By challenging ourselves to describe what we see and experience, we sharpen our ability to capture finer details. How we perceive the world, in turn, shapes our ability to articulate our experiences. Students will develop a more profound and complete grasp of their spatial experiences, connecting to those atmospheric qualities—tacit, intangible, and ineffable—that give depth to every encounter with architecture;

    [2] to teach students how to compose the fundamental elements of architecture (those elements that, throughout history, have preserved continuity in use and meaning, though evolving within different geographic and sociocultural contexts) within the spatial unit of the entryway. Entryways—ubiquitous presences in our daily lives—exemplify threshold architecture: they mediate the transition between exterior and interior spatially and symbolically. They provide an environment that encourages movement and allows for moments of pause; they serve as resonant architectures, orchestrating multisensory atmospheres that shape our first impressions of a building. Students will develop a critical design approach by crafting micro-narratives of architectural details, colors, materials, lighting, and embodied sensations.

    TEACHING METHODS

    The semester-long curriculum includes lectures led by the instructor and guest speakers (such as researchers, professionals, and photographers), complemented by exercises to be completed individually and in groups. There will be two primary assignments:

    [1] students will craft an atlas of Genoese entryways, which will involve the critical analysis of selected case studies, their architectural elements, and their atmospheric qualities. To enhance their phenomenological and expressive sensitivity, the atlas will include photographs, axonometric diagrams (both overview and detailed), and textual fragments. We will provide tools to enable historical and authorial contextualization of the investigated examples;

    [2] students will design the entryway within a university building. Through introductory lectures, site visits with experts, and current-condition documentation, they will develop a fully independent project that respects the assigned program and enhances the atmospheric quality of our architectural experiences. The project will take shape in architectural drawings and mock-ups, addressing different scales, from general layout to detailed elements, and meeting compositional, functional, and structural requirements.

    SYLLABUS/CONTENT

    This course integrates theoretical and practical components, which converge in practicing architectural design. We will provide a detailed syllabus as the course unfolds.

    RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

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

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

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

    Havik K., Teerds H. e Tielens G., a cura di (2013). ‘Sfeer bouwen (Building Atmosphere)’. OASE: Tijdschrift voor Architectuur (Journal for Architecture), 91. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers.

    Kolbitz K., a cura di (2017). Entryways of Milan. Colonia: Taschen.

    Koolhaas R., AMO, Harvard Graduate School of Design e Westcott J., a cura di (2014), Elements: A Series of 15 Books Accompanying the Exhibition ‘Elements of Architecture’ at the 2014 Venice Architecture Biennale. Venezia: 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: The MIT Press.

    Tidwell P., a cura di (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

    Exam Board

    ENRICO MOLTENI (President)

    PHILIPP WUNDRICH

    LESSONS

    LESSONS START

    Following the 2024/2025 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 year’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 have acquired.