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 can 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 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.

Integrated 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 projects, 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 foresees 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. The course will conclude with an intensive workshop (minimum duration: one week), focused on preparing for the final exam through project refinement and the completion of graphic materials. Two main assignments are accompanied by a series of short, impromptu exercises carried out during the course:

[1] Students will craft an atlas of Genoese twentieth-century entryways, which will involve the critical analysis of selected case studies, their architectural elements, and their atmospheric qualities. To enhance students’ phenomenological and expressive sensitivity, the atlas will include photographs, axonometric diagrams (both overview and detailed), and sensory maps. 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, and survey 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.


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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 course is structured around lectures and studio-based activities that, beginning with a typological investigation of entryways, delve into the relationship between space and body, design and perception. Since the 1980s, there has been a gradual reassessment of the body and its emotional resonances in individual and relational processes. In the design disciplines, this shift has been most notably expressed through the concept of atmosphere. Architectural atmospheres represent a paradigmatic manifestation of the ineffable and the ephemeral, the corporeal and the emotional, the subjective and the barely perceptible: an intimate kind of sensing that is extremely difficult to articulate and share — seemingly impossible to decode, measure, or reproduce. Yet, growing interest in the atmospheric potential of the architectural experience raises important questions about how to re-center the body in design practice — understood as a privileged medium for both sensing and making architecture. The body as listening. The body as dialogue. The body as design.


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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. Genoa: Sagep.

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

Forty, A. (2000). Words and Buildings: A Vocabulary of Modern Architecture. London: Thames & Hudson.

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. Milan: Görlich.

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

Zevi, B. (1957). Architecture As Space: How to Look at Architecture. New York, NY: Horizon Press.

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 have acquired.