By investigating issues related to the close relationship between Architecture and Urban Design, the Thematic Research Seminar proposes topics for reflection in direct connection with the cultural contents of the Master Course.

The seminar has the task of stimulating students to define their own and autonomous research topic, helping them to instruct and methodologically structure a themed work path that will become the reference paradigm for the elaboration of their Master Thesis.

The student:

- acquires knowledge and comprehension skills that allow him to become aware of the experimental research work and to elaborate complex and interdisciplinary work paths;

- manages to develop those learning skills that allow them to continue studying mostly in a self-directed or autonomous way

- will be able to communicate their conclusions, as well as the knowledge and rationale underlying them, in a clear and unambiguous way

Aim

The aim of the course is to offer conceptual and practical knowledge, methods and tools useful to develop an advanced project for the preservation and management of the existing built environment and cultural heritage, highly responsive to the socio-economic needs and identity of the places in which the project is expected to take place. To achieve this aim, the course will combine national and international perspectives and state-of-the-art knowledge in the field.

Two overarching goals drive the ideation and design of this course:

1) to provide students with a conceptually and operationally strong basis for the development of the final dissertation;

2) to facilitate students' future working opportunities and entry into the job market.

Contents 

This Research Thematic Seminar is based on theoretical and practical lessons that, originally and innovatively, combines two disciplinary fields: Architectural Preservation and Applied Economics.

The integration of these two disciplines replies to a specific and novel understanding of the preservation, restoration and valorisation of the existing built environment and of cultural heritage in particular.

In this view, the valorisation project requires merging methods for the analysis and the project intervention with the awareness of the socio-economic specificities of every single place and, consequently, the potential socio-economic impacts of such interventions.

From this perspective, preservation projects, in fact, have not simply the aim of transferring the material and artistic value of existing buildings, and heritage sites. More importantly, preservation projects must enhance such value and preserve the social and cultural function and use of the existing heritage, with positive impacts on the society and the economy, for example by improving the touristic value of an area or by adopting a musealisation approach.

Each project, therefore, has to be conceived and designed with awareness and knowledge of the social, geographical, territorial, economic, historical, architectural and archaeological specificities of the area in which it will be developed.

The merging of two different fields, Architectural Preservation and Applied Economics, offers concrete conceptual and operational tools to develop projects that are consistent with such a new view of preservation, restoration and valorisation of the existing built environment and of cultural heritage.

Specifically, the Preservation module focuses on the training of the skills suitable to safeguard the Cultural Heritage, and wishes to teach, through lessons and workshops, the tools valuable for the development of a conservation project at the territorial, urban, architectural, and archaeological scales.

The fundamental meaning of the module is to introduce the students to the conservation fields, offering the strategies and the awareness to develop good research as a fundamental basis of a good project for the use and management of the territory.

These strategies and tools are connected with the knowledge of the environment from the material, construction, technological, and historical point of view.

The research will consider the relationship between the object and the surroundings and their “interfaces”. That means that it is important to analyse the contact point among the different structures of the environment, in order to ensure the control of the risks and the difficulties and their overcoming.

The optimization of all the resources available in the place is a paramount question.

The lessons will be developed on lessons and a fundamental bibliography that can exemplify what the students have to do.

The Economy module focuses on the relevance of concepts such as territorial capital (material and non-material features characterizing a given area) and identity from a local development perspective. The module combines lectures on theoretical and spatial economic analysis tools.

On conceptual grounds, the module will discuss the concepts of public goods, externalities, agglomeration economies, inequalities and their role in the socio-economic development of the places in which they are located.

On the empirical grounds, the module will present the most useful spatial economic analysis tools to be applied to the analysis of the socio-economic fabric at the territorial level (i.e., regional, provincial, and urban levels). The list of overviewed tools includes specialization and diversification indicators; shift-share analysis; descriptive spatial statistics; regional growth patterns. 

• SDG9 - INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
• SDG11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES
• SDG12 - RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION

The Agenda 2030 by ONU is inviting us to approach our lives in a "sustainable" way.

It means that it is necessary to change our minds in order to achieve our aims in a proper way, according to the new challenges.

The 4 chosen Sdgs offered the Course the opportunity to rethink new approaches to the didactic activity that, in this case, is combining conservation and enhancement of Cultural Heritage with the applied economy.

Combining the economic and social survey with the analyse for the enhancement project, and having a look from the point of view of the creative industry, it could be possible to consider Cultural Heritage in the competitive business environment.

Starting from this point, Cultural Heritage can become one of the flywheels for the development and employment of local communities. The valorisation project must be developed considering its social and economic impact. This point of view can guarantee the sustainability of the projects, which means that the architecture, the monument and the heritage site are conserved (according to the known methodologies) and transferred to the future generation and, at the same time, can trigger new job opportunities and create new sectors in the labour market, in the respect of the local identity.

Assessment is based on:

- An individual test on the theoretical part (30%)

- A group report on the preservation project (70%)

Professors are available to offer and suggest useful and interesting examples if there is no convergence within the group about the case study to be examined.

The final delivery will be a common report, jointly evaluated, aimed at introducing the preservation project developed for the selected case of study. The report shall combine text, schemes, drawings, graphics, and data analysis. The report merges the Economy and Preservation parts of the Research Thematic Seminar.

The professors will support the training of single students and of groups along the course with theoretical lessons and step-by-step reviews.

This exercise aims at enhancing students’ skills and knowledge, in terms of methods and conceptual tools, in order to develop a sustainable project, from the preservation, architectural and socio-economic point of view, and be able to transfer high-value heritage to future generations.

Besides compulsory readings (see below), additional resources will be suggested and distributed by the professors during the course, including scientific journals (e.g. ‘Ananke, Altralinea, Firenze, ISSN 1129-8219: Italian Journal on the contemporary problems of the intervention of architectural heritage and its environment, available at Polimi’s library).