1. G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli with G.Cerri, E.Medri, LE CORBUSIER, PICASSO, POLYPHEMUS AND OTHER MONOCULAR GIANTS, Firenze, goWare 2015.
2. G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli (and others), SITE-SPECIFIC MUSEUM_ONE, Gli Ori, Pistoia 2011.
3.CrossingLab.com (G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli and others), “GreenUP – A Smart City”, Allemandi International, Turin, London, New York, 2013
Obiettivi Formativi
1. adeguata conoscenza specifica della materia con particolare riferimento ai valori culturali e di luogo
2. implementazione delle responsabilità individuali in ambiti di gruppo; pratiche di condivisione.
3. implementazione della capacità di lavoro in modalità interculturale
4. implementazione della capacità di lavoro in ambito internazionale
Prerequisiti
Architectural Design 1 - corso annualità precedente e relativo Lab
Metodi Didattici
metodo didattico induttivo, con interazione e stimolo di pratica pratica bottom-up
Altre Informazioni
i testi di riferimento sono integrati con appositi materiali cross-mediali dedicati:
1. www.CrossingLab.com/MonocularGiants
2. www.sismus.org
3. www.CrossingLab.com/greenup
il corso prevede anche un workgroup ad accesso chiuso (per ragioni di privacy) e costo zero così da favorire una aurorale sperimentazione MOOC.
Modalità di verifica apprendimento
Il corso prevede verifiche a scadenze programmate con presentazioni e discussioni collettive in preparazione dell'esame finale del Laboratorio.
Programma del corso
Architectural Design - prof. Giacomo Pirazzoli (6 credits)
Assistants: Giada Cerri, Irene Giovannetti, Agnese Matteini, Eric Medri
a joint Lab with: Prof.Giulio Giovannoni, Urban Design
Prof.Antonella Valentini, Landscape Design
Design or Default
- a site-specific alternative -
There are several battles that need to be won and several frontiers that need to be expanded in order to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life.
Alejandro Aravena, director of “Reporting From The Front” - the 15th Architecture Biennale, Venice 2016
1. COURSE DESCRIPTION
Since centuries travelers and artists, poets and writers as Stendhal, Henry James, John Ruskin or Le Corbusier leave home to visit Florence and Tuscany – or other regions of Italy, as Goethe and Schinkel, for instance, did – searching for something inspiring to be processed when back to their own native country. Since then, so-called Grand Tour, Italienische Reise, Travel to Italy has been consisting of peculiar concepts (or leftovers?) belonging to Middle Age first, plus some other issues from Latin+Roman heritage recycling process better known as “Renaissance”.
Today the same phenomena is widely popularized: it's called global tourism – actually the most developed industry worldwide – or even, more specifically, cultural consumerism; it means millions people to land here, to make streets crowded all the year long, to spend holidays diving within Italian culture, actually to enjoy food and wine plus some museums and cultural heritage sites.
Another side of such a multi-face story, many international Institutions in Florence – among which is iCad, the International Course on Architectural Design at the University of Florence – as well as in the countryside host academics, researchers and students to share frst, then to process cultural issues.
All together, this multi-profle culture-oriented migration or displacement – which in general is due to rich enough people, actually focusing on core Western sophisticated issues as Cultural Heritage and Museums basically are – somehow transformed downtown Florence into a very peculiar theme-park, or even a bubble, detached from real life.
A reflecting-by-doing opportunity about these real world matters – which match those ones issued by Aravena's incoming Venice Biennale – Design Or Default course aims at politically contaminate such a sterilized culture-crossing case-study of Florence, an apparently untouched world-town, if not via media and conferences, after serious then urgent social issues as war refugees perspective is.
Although a regular design-and-build course – which seems to be not possible to set up at the School of Architecture in Italy – would clearly be the learning-by-doing tool to deal with such social issues, Design Or Default course is anyway to work on a “Report From The Front” final project, according to the key-words: Common Goods, Sharing Practice, Sustainability, Equality, Affordable etc.
Finally, to share a valuable alternative to trendy Global (Architectural) Design and related star-architects' luxury real estate – which unfortunately but frequently turns international architecture schools into fashion victims islands – Design Or Default course students are offered to work together on two preliminary exercises to pave the way to The GreenUP Report From The Front final project merging both Cultural Heritage and Contemporary issues.
Design Or Default course is also for the students to become acknowledgeable problem-solvers then “citizen-architects” (as design-and-build Rural Studio at Auburn University pointed out) dealing with site-specific innovation attitude; then, for the incoming generation of architects “to improve the quality of the built environment and consequently people’s quality of life”. So to say: Design or Default.
EXERCISE 1. “From 2D to 3D - Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus etc.”
Right on the 50th anniversary of Le Corbusier's “last swim”, this team exercise focuses on a 2D Le Corbusier's painting to be 3D modeled frst, then 3D printed.
Exercise 1 is a learning-by-doing work, whose the theoretical framework and guidelines are provided by
CrossingLab produced book Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus and Other Monocular Giants (including
monocular mask, bibliography etc.).
After carefully entered theory, each team (max 3 students per group, different nationalities) is required to first propose via fb workgroup a purist period painting by Le Corbusier to be agreed on by the teaching staff. Then – after scaled it down to a 30cm horizontal dimension – the painting will be finally drawn 2D then 3D, according to the book guidelines. A final 3D printing kindly tutored by “Laboratorio modelli” (Mock-up Workshop, groundfoor) will make the job accomplished.
To signifcantly increase communication skill, each group is required a 5' .ppt presentation file (to be delivered on USB stick memory) to be displayed on November 3th, the opening day of the Course Workshop.
Please note that the 5 most successful presentations should be awarded a publication within the book followup; positive evaluation on Exercise 1 “From 2D to 3D - Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus etc.” is needed for any student to effectively enter the Final Project scheduled by November 4th.
Applied research “From 2D to 3D - Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus etc.” aims at implementing teamworking interaction skill as well as conjectural problem-solving under team commitment, responsibility and independence.
A coherent back-and-forth challenge to connect theory and practice, Exercise 1 also highlights the conceptual path from 2 to 3 dimensions as a pivotal Architectural Design tool within the Architecture and Town Design Lab.
G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli with G.Cerri, E.Medri, Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus and Other Monocular Giants, Firenze, goWare 2015. Available at the School library.
EXERCISE 2. “Four Site-Specific Museums, Florence”
A tribute to John Ruskin's Morning in Florence, this individual exercise focuses on sketches report from 4 (four) Florentine museums. Theoretical framework is entirely provided by the book: Site Specific Museum_ONE (including website, video, bibliography etc.).
After carefully studied the theoretical theme, each individual student is to visit 4 (four) “A-type MUSEUMS” - a personal choice between those listed on p.26 - in Florence. A sketches-report is required to collect 2 (two) A4 horizontal pages each museum; pages should be filled with drawings/sketches searching for site-specificity of collection, museum design and exhibition set-up, including architectural technicalities about display, lighting, air-treatment etc. The 8 (eight) pages will be complemented by 1 page written text (max 2000 characters) to discuss museums cross-cultural issues eventually found on display, jointly with site-specificity.
To significantly increase communication skill, each student is required a 5' .ppt presentation file (to be delivered on USB stick memory) to be displayed on November 3th, the opening day of the Course Workshop.
Positive evaluation on Exercise 2. “Four Site-Specific Museums, Florence” is needed for any student to effectively enter the Final Project scheduled by November 4th.
Applied research “Four Site-Specific Museums, Florence” aims at implementing sketches reporting as an essential Architectural Design tool. Also, it encourages students to observe, to analyze, then to reflect about museums and Cultural Heritage as a peculiar urban scale site-specific system in Florence. As for Exercise 1, responsible commitment and independence will allow to connect theoretical issues with direct observation. Exercise 2 finally paves the way towards alternative vision to global museums.
G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli (and others), Site Specific Museum_ONE, Gli Ori, Pistoia 2011 (available at the School library, at LE MURATE bookshop and
J. Sbolci with A. Balducci, Site Specific Museums, video by Kinokitchen: http://www.sismus.org/engl/one
website: www.sismus.org
FINAL PROJECT: “GreenUP – Report From the Front”
Architecture & Town Design Lab final project consists of a full synthesis to include methodology, analysis, holistic concepts and highlights issued by Architectural Design, Urban Design and Landscape Design courses.
For what specifically concerns Architectural Design course, students need to previously earn both Exercise 1 “From 2D to 3D - Le Corbusier, Picasso, Polyphemus etc.” and Exercise 2 “Four Site-Specific Museums, Florence” positive evaluation, so to enter the Final Project, scheduled by November 4th.
“GreenUP – Report From the Front” Lab final project is a team work (max 4 students per group, different nationalities) referring to CrossingLab's theoretical framework “GreenUP - a Smart City” – a cross-media research project whose the key-words are: Green, Recycling/Renewable, Energy, Environment. Its project bundle actually includes book+ebook+website (with bibliography)+video+the “Urban Connectors” TEDxConference.
After carefully studied such a framework, students are required to work in the outskirts of Florence, at LE PIAGGE district. Re-design will focus on a proper infrastructure – just like Piranesi's Roman Aqueduct, actually GreenUP's prior reference – a NETWORK backbone should provide vertical green and gardens – both for food growing and/or dust retaining, depending on the specific needs. An affordable “device” to turn the existing fabric into a more comfortable place linking sites and people, GreenUP will connect existing derelict spaces and buildings (HARDWARE) to simply avoid large scale demolition. Being density one of the main issue, new temporary/renewable units (SOFTWARE) eventually connected by the GreenUP network will allow people to be settled within interstitial recovered areas.
Final Project aims at merging research with site-specific challenging issues. Complexity knowledge belonging to the three Lab courses as well as team working are the goal.
“The GreenUP Report From The Front” is to be a follow-up case-study whose the three courses joint detailed program will be circulated on the occasion of the course workshop, scheduled to happen by November 4th 2015, according to the School Academic Agenda.
CrossingLab.com (G.”Piraz” Pirazzoli and others), “GreenUP – A Smart City”, Allemandi International, Turin, London, New York, 2013; available at the School library.
book: http://www.allemandi.com/dett_libri.php?id=1034
ebook: http://www.e-readers.ch/eBook/greenup/giuntoli-alberto-5678904-14573760
website: www.CrossingLab.com/Greenup
F.Macelloni director, A.Matteini graphics, GreenUP – A Smart City, video: https://vimeo.com/87993255
book review:
http://zarch.unizar.es/index.php/es/numeros/numero-3/crossinglab-com-greenup-a-smart-city
- Mid-term Critic: prof. Elena Barthel - Rural Studio, Auburn University (USA)
- Final Jury Special Guest: prof. Zeuler R.M. De A. Lima - School of Architecture, Washington University in St.Louis (USA)
BASIC BIBLIOGRAPHY on “Displacement”, “Grand Tour”, “Italy/Tuscany/Florence”
Vasari, Giorgio, Vite de' più eccellenti Architetti, Pittori e Scultori, (Lives of the Most Eminent Italian Architects, Painters, and Sculptors, 1550 1st)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/vasari/vasari-lives.html
*Goethe, Johann Wolfgang, Italienische Reise 1786-1788, - Engl. ed. Italian Journey 1786-88, Penguin books, London 1970
*Stendhal, Rome, Naples et Florence, 1817 Original French language: http://www.archive.org/stream/romenaplesetflo00stengoog#page/n10/mode/2up
*James, Henry, Italian Hours, 1909
*** Stendhal, Goethe, James, Italy: Italian Journey; Rome, Naples, & Florence; Italian Hours, Atlas Pocket Classics, NY 2010
http://www.amazon.com/Atlas-Pocket-Classics-Italian-Florence/dp/1934633046
Ruskin, John, Mornings in Florence, London 1875-77
http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Mornings_in_Florence
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7227
D'Epiro, Peter and Pinkowish, Mary Desmond, "Sprezzatura – 50 Ways Italian Genius Shaped the World", First Anchor Books, New York 2001
Onsite Review n.24: MIGRATION http://issuu.com/onsitereview/docs/onsite24
Onsite Review n.25: IDENTITY http://www.onsitereview.ca/onsite25identity/
The Grand Touristas project at Venice Biennale 2012: http://www.facebook.com/GrandTourVeniceBiennale01
READINGS:
Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City, 1966
Venturi-Scott Brown-Izenour, Learning from Las Vegas, 1972
Joseph Beuys, "7000 Eichen – Stadtverwaldung statt Stadtverwaltung", Documenta 8, Kassel 1982; see also: http://www.7000eichen.de/
Gilles Clément, Manifeste du Tiers Paysage, 2003; see also:
http://www.gillesclement.com/art-454-tit-The-Third-Landscape
Christa Müller, Intercultural Gardens - Urban Places for Subsistence Production and Diversity, http://www.difu.de/publikationen/german-journal-of-urban-studies-vol-46-2007-no-1/intercultural-gardensurban-places-for-subsistence.html#3
handbook: Zimmermann (ed.), Constructing Landscape – materials, techniques, structural components, Basel-Boston-Berlin, 2009
Anna Lambertini (ed.), Vertical Gardens, London, 2007
http://nolli.uoregon.edu/
Foundation Anstiftung & Ertomis, http://www.anstiftung-ertomis.de/uk
Movies: The Fruit Hunters (2012) and God Save the Green (2013)