ARCHITECTURE OF PUBLIC SPACES

The course is part of the related/integrative disciplines of the degree course in Economics and Administration of Arts and Culture (curriculum in English of Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities) and is aimed at training students in the historical-artistic field.
The course aims to provide an in-depth knowledge of the architecture of public spaces - both in the context of cultural institutions and in the urban one - with particular attention to the contemporary era in which it is acquiring a primary role in the processes of redevelopment of cities, of cultural promotion, up to the creation of new public buildings or the critical review of existing ones.
The main innovative features of the architecture of public spaces will be discussed in class through the analysis and critical study of works by contemporary architects throughout the 20th century to the present.

It is particularly important that students become aware of the growing importance that the architecture of public spaces occupies in the valorization of the contemporary city from a cultural and human point of view, and be able to critically evaluate the different design approaches presented in class in relation to the effectiveness exercised on the social and the relationship with the surrounding context.

Previously acquired knowledge in the history of contemporary architecture may be useful, but not mandatory.

The course is aimed at acquiring knowledge on the architecture of public spaces through the identification of key themes that, from time to time, highlight the degree of innovation and effectiveness from the point of view of the functions performed, the methods of interaction with the public and the positive effects on the liveability of our cities.
Main topics covered in class:
Free space
Society building/Building society
Unitary urbanism
Ludic functionalism
Society at its best/Architecture at its minimum
Supra-city. Making circulation habitable
The city as an urban living room
Hedonistic sustainability
Critical functionalism
Architecture as built criticism
Architecture as interface
Social/cultural park
Healthy planet, healthy people

Mello, Patrizia. "Twentieth Century Architecture and Modernity. Our Past, Our Present". Los Angeles: ORO Editions Publishers, 2022.
Cobe. "Our Urban Living Room. Learning from Copenhagen". Stockholm: Arvinius + Orfeus Publishing, 2016.
A series of guide materials (articles, essays, parts of books) will be inserted on the Moodle platform, in PDF format, to retrace in detail, deepen, fix and contextualize the topics covered during the course, including the summary PDFs of the projects analyzed in class.

The exam is in the form of an oral interview and will focus on the topics developed during the course.
At the discretion of the student, there is the possibility of developing a research on a public space architecture of their choice, different from the case studies presented in class, to be framed within one of the topics covered in class and to be presented in PDF format ten days before the oral exam. The same will contribute to the overall evaluation of the oral interview. A summary diagram of the methods of carrying out the research will be inserted on the Moodle platform.

Non-attending students will refer to the two texts indicated in the bibliography and the materials deposited on the Moodle platform. For further clarifications on the parts to be studied of the two texts present in the bibliography, they are invited to contact the teacher by email.

Frontal lessons supported by video tools (documentaries, films, interviews, exhibitions) as an in-depth analysis of the projects analyzed in class, real virtual visits to the architecture of public spaces created all over the world.

English

Since there are no specific manuals to study that include all the topics of the course covered in class, attendance is not mandatory but strongly recommended.
Any cultural activities complementary to the topics covered in class will be communicated on the course's Moodle platform.

oral

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development