The challenges posed by the change in contemporary landscape require to integrate and connect skills of different knowledge under the umbrella of sustainability such as landscape architecture, urban planning, ecology, architecture, social sciences, etc...

The course “Metabolism of City and Landscape” aims to integrate technology and culture mainly for the recovery of a territorial heritage and the regeneration of a suburban area.

The student become aware of the strategies and techniques for the recovery of the derelict areas (post-industrial, post-agricultural, shrinking urban fabrics) that fill the contemporary landscape, taking count of the limited resources available and the possibility of their use/management in an efficient, sufficient and resilient way on a territorial scale and how to combine conflicting requests for a sustainable approach.

At the end the students, through the contributes given through lectures, workshops, and field visits, will be able to understand the notion of metabolism applied to contemporary cities and landscape, and to manage the complexity of sustainability, namely the knowledge necessary to design and manage the transformations of the contemporary landscape.

They will use an evaluation protocol to understand where to best allocate the limited resources available for a transformation of a portion of landscape.

In accordance with the 5 Dublin descriptors:

1 - Knowledge and understanding: The students will be guided in bettering their knowledge and understanding of the subjects involved in the course by the teachers and their collaborators who will help students to manage the complexity of the sustainable transformation of the landscape;

2 - Applying knowledge and understanding: The students will develop their own research on Metabolism through flipped-classes, speak and tell demonstrations, and detailed design and methodologic proposals);

3 - Making judgements: The students will be encouraged in checking their own results and develop their own judgment capacities through analysis and workshop reports;

4 - Communication skills: students, divided in groups of max. 3 individuals, will prepare 2 oral presentations on their research work progresses in relation to the Course brief, to be discussed and evaluated in a public discussion (mid-term presentations);

5 - Learning skills: students will demonstrate their completed skills at the final exam, when there will be a public oral discussion with teachers and tutoring staff about the course results (Assessment of final test delivered as video-clips, tables, and written reports) obtained during the supported and autonomous learning activities.

Environmental Design: from ecology to resilience.

Cities and landscape transformations: the metabolism as a metaphor.

Applied strategies and technologies for landscape and urban recovery.

Design and technologies for the reclamation of derelict areas.

Sustainability at territorial scale.

Sustainable neighbourhoods.

Ecology: energy, climate, resources, (regional-territorial) grid.

International examples of regeneration in the urban landscape.

Implementing the notion of metabolism on a real case-study providing an analysis readingprocesses that merge city and landscape as a whole.

Knowledge of the principles of sustainability declined in three dimensions: ecology, economy and society.

Knowledge of technical interaction between architecture and urban landscape.

The exam is oral, during the exam student will discuss on the contents of the lectures and the other didactic activities related to the course.The course is elective, but students are invited to follow the lectures and the other didactic activities. Students that will decide to not attend the lectures must define with teachers a specific literature to be discussed during the exam. The attending students will be requested to present a short movie taken according the contents of course.

compulsory reading (chapter): Fabris LMF., Granello G., 'Learning-by-filming'.