• Cotutela con mondo esterno

The goal of the teaching is the learning of the architectural design fundamentals, of the theoretical, analytical, historical, conservation and instrumental knowledge that allows getting to the design synthesis through the definition of architectural form, and to its representation through the drawing tool, expressive mode of the discipline. Student learns design skills, judgment and control of the quality of spaces and volumes in the different phases of the project, from conception to its formal definition, through the study of the relationship with site, urban history, functions, construction techniques and chosen materials.
The studio works, in the two sections coordinated with each other, deals with the study of the Gonzaga Territory from Mantova to Sabbioneta up to the close territories. The timetable includes also an experience of two weeks of intensive teaching. The results of the studio are aimed at preparing the final degree work.
The Final Workshop composes a module of Architectural Design, 4 cfu, a module of Museography, 4 cfu, a module of Architectural Preservation, 4 cfu, and a module of Strengthening and Seismic Design, 4 cfu.

Both sections of the Final Workshop Antico e Nuovo adopt the innovative teaching methods in terms of flipped  blended classroom and joint supervision (co-tutela) with the Mantova and Sabbioneta municipalities.

The student acquires practical skills through the performance of laboratory activities.
After passing the exam, the student: understands the characteristics, needs and constraints of the design process in the built heritage; plans the recovery and re-functionalization of parts of a monumental complex; with independent judgment, is able to operate and communicate the design choices made and the knowledge of cultural and historicized territory.

During the studio, the students are guided to the definition of a project of architecture that is the synthesis of their knowledge, understanding and representation of reality.

The design process is guided by the awareness of the need for a theory, for a general vision that can be shared, for a transmissible method, for a practice of analysis and study, for the assessment of the adequacy of the results. Starting from in-depth analyses and comparisons with known models, the project should reflect the other possible interpretations.

Comparison and assessment: these are the terms within which the project should be defined through a process that starts with a solid knowledge of the subject and pushes the interpretation towards new sharing and adequacy criteria. The study of examples from the past, starting from the survey of their material identity, highlights the relationship and the complex connections among topic, typology and building, in the attempt to set a value that determines the quality of the case study. Critique is used as an assessment tool and guides every choice, forcing a constant clarification of objectives and the quest for a meaningful correspondence among the existing structures, the idea and its representation.

The topic is the design of a building for public use with urban significance within the town and the landscape and dialoguing with the existing buildings, which in some cases require requalification. The design process focuses on the typological variation of open-plan and arcade buildings according to the peculiarities of the chosen topic and on their composition into an organic design. Through the study of selected spaces in the Gonzaga Territories, representing as many variations of the contemporary idea of a public building, it will be possible to identify the reasons and the relationships that, in that specific town and area, can turn a design into a solid experience.

During the whole semester particular attention will be paid to the study and discussion of subject-specific theoretic topics and to the necessary cross-curricular research. The module of Museography will propose a special focus on the culture, the themes and the practices of exhibition related to historical contexts. The module of Strengthening and Seismic Design will work particularly on the technology of wooden constructions.  The teaching of Architectural Preservation will give the methodologies to study the built environment, that means to read, analyze and understand the existing elements, as architectural heritage, landscape, historic center, and their relationships with surroundings and new constructions. The analyses will be considered as part of the valorization project. According to the methodology of blended learning, flipped classroom and role play learning, the students will be invited to solve problems, based on the lessons and on the tools given by professors. In particular, all the stakeholders will be introduced in the investigation by the students, in order to understand the real role of all the actors involved in the project, management and enhancement of the case of study.

One of the most important needs of the building labour market is improving, in a sustainable environment, the projects of new constructions and the maintenance restoration of the existing structures. The awareness of the relationships among the built environment in its architectural, urban and territorial dimension constitute the parameters useful to introduce good strategies for the management of the architectural and territorial heritage.

Through lectures, seminars, group and individual reviews, the students will understand the importance of preserving and managing historic landscapes and will acquire analysis tools, and conservation and reuse methodologies. The workshop comprises theoretical lectures, group discussions, hand-on activities, and periodic collective reviews of the project. The lectures are structured in order to provide an overview of the disciplinary aspects of architecture focusing on the proposed topic and trying to find a connection with other subjects.

In relationship with the 2030 United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development the Workshop will include topics related to the disciplines: Inclusive education, Energy efficiency, Social inclusion and Disabilities, Sustainable urban design and architecture, Urban/Cities/Built environment and Cultural heritage. Students will also learn what contribution they can give to face these topics in both their roles of citizens and experts. The approach will be interdisciplinary with the aim to setting the basis for an innovative scientific and technical approach. 

Keywords: SDG 4. Quality education (specifically: Inclusive education); SDG 7. Affordable and clean energy (specifically: Energy efficency); SDG 10. Reduced inequalities (specifically: Social inclusion and Disabilities); SDG 11. Sustainable cities and communities (specifically: Sustainable urban design/architecture, Urban/Cities/Built environment and Cultural/natural heritage).

• SDG4 - QUALITY EDUCATION
• SDG7 - AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
• SDG11 - SUSTAINABLE CITIES AND COMMUNITIES

An examination recording priority established by the Regulations of the Master's of Science program in Architectural Design and History for attending the Final Workshop Antico e Nuovo is the passing of the two Studios in the first and second semester of the 1st year of the Master Course.
The pre-requisites for the attendance of the teaching are those of the experience of the project of a building or building complex on an urban scale and the study of forms of insertion into the urban fabric of historical matrix, acquired through the achievement of the bachelor in architecture. Survey, technical and structural evaluation skills are considered, too. A prerequisite is also the ability to work in a multi-person and multi-cultural design group.

The final examination is held in the oral format and will consist of:

-  a collective discussion, group by group, of the project developed during the semester with the support of panels. The number of panels will not be predefined, but it has to ensure a minimum quantity of drawings, which need to be agreed following the conclusion of two intensive weeks together with the characteristics of the files for final delivery;

-  an individual discussion aimed at verifying the awareness of each student about all the contents addressed during the semester within all the fields and disciplines involved (Architectural Design, Architectural Preservation, Strengthening and Seismic Design, Museography) as well as their respective bibliographies. In this dialogue both the topics of the lectures and the themes of reasonings that emerged during the critics of the project will be addressed. The assessment by the teaching staff of the course carried out by each working group throughout the semester as well as the exercises proposed will also be part of the final evaluation.

For Architectural Preservation, each group will deliver a report, as a part of the final project with the analyses made on the selected cases of study (architectural heritage, archaeological site, landscape, territory). The survey will be related with the causes of the damages and the historical phases of construction.

con uno scritto di Vittorio Savi