LABORATORIO DI PROGETTAZIONE SULLA PREESISTENZA E ARCHITETTURA DEGLI INTERNI A - L

The course’s primary educational objectives are: a) to explore in depth, through architectural practice, the relationship between the new and the pre-existing in the recovery and regeneration of a city's historical and archaeological heritage; b) to develop a new systemic design approach regarding pre-existing structures—including ruins (archaeological and/or architectural)—viewing them not as passive, isolated components but as vital forces in the process of redefining the contemporary city. Designing within a pre-existing context also entails an interdisciplinary approach that intertwines concepts of memory, materiality, time, and place, fostering a dialogue aimed at providing a proactive response for the regeneration of the existing built environment.

In accordance with the Dublin Descriptors (DdD), passing the exam certifies the acquisition of the following learning outcomes:

DdD 1_Knowledge and understanding of the fundamental theoretical and methodological elements of architectural design, and their application to the process of transforming urban spaces, considering both historical origins and contemporary perspectives.

DdD 2_Ability to apply knowledge and understanding to manage construction techniques and compositional aspects, thereby governing the qualitative relationships of architectural forms and spaces within historical, archaeological, and contemporary contexts.

DdD 3_Ability to make design decisions independently.

DdD 4_Ability to communicate design decisions clearly and convincingly.

DdD 5_Acquisition of a level of design maturity that enables the student to tackle subsequent stages of the design process. Contribution of the course to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

· Target 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

· Target 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

· Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities

· Target 11.a Support positive economic, social, and environmental links between urban, peri-urban, and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

The laboratory develops alongside the lectures, seminars and design exercises with a final design work that will constitute the moment of synthesis and verification. Each exercise includes lectures on the topics of the course and collective and individual laboratory activities. Seminars are also planned, also held by external teachers and experts in the topics addressed.

In accordance with the University’s Teaching Regulations and the Degree Programme’s Teaching Regulations, attendance is mandatory for courses designated as

“Laboratories.” Students may request a full or partial exemption from the attendance requirement for serious and/or justified reasons. Such exemptions are granted by the Degree Programme

Board and must simultaneously ensure the student's eligibility to sit the corresponding exams.

To be admitted to the exam, students must have attended 70% of the course lectures.

In the first part of the course, students will work on drawings—at various scales—of the built-up area and urban surroundings of Niscemi; these plans must clearly reveal the role that pre-existing elements played in prefiguring, and often dictating, the city's form.

This work on the "Drawing of the City" will provide the foundation for the tasks to be undertaken in the second part of the course. Students will focus on designing public spaces—within both established and undeveloped urban fabric—driven by the need to reconfigure the urban structure to meet modern requirements, while taking as their starting point the very pre-existing elements that have shaped and sustained the city's character over time. Each project will be presented through a triptych—featuring three different scales, a view, and a model—serving simultaneously as tools for both representation and design.

Adolf Loos, *Parole nel vuoto*, available in various editions

Francesco Venezia, *L’architettura, gli scritti, la critica*, Electa, Milan 1998

Manuel de Solà Morales, *Progettare città*, Editoriale Lotus, Milan 1999

Aldo Rossi, *L'architettura della città*, available in various editions

Luigi Pellegrino, *Adolf Loos. La mia scuola di architettura*, LetteraVentidue, Syracuse 2022

The exam consists of a presentation by the student of the urban design and drawing exercises completed during the workshop, with particular emphasis on the process and the underlying conceptual and relational framework. Knowledge of the texts and projects analyzed and/or presented during the course is also required.

Assessment may also be conducted online, should circumstances require it.

To ensure equal opportunities and compliance with current regulations, interested students may request a personal meeting to arrange any compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, based on educational objectives and specific needs. Students may also contact the designated CInAP representative (Center for Active and Participatory Integration — Services for Disabilities and/or Specific Learning Disorders) for their Department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).

“Projects had to develop according to a process moving from the inside out.” (Adolf Loos, *My School of Architecture*)

The discipline of “interior architecture” is conceived as an inseparable part and a fundamental stage of the architectural design process. The course aims to establish a design research path that challenges preconceptions surrounding interior design—a field often viewed merely as the furnishing of pre-existing spaces. Instead, the goal is to explore how starting from an “interior” makes it possible to measure and shape the world (employing an “inside-out” process that lies at the heart of the finest architectural tradition). Specifically, the course will investigate the capacity of ruins (whether archaeological or architectural) to define their immediate surroundings and, in turn, influence the city’s structure, following the great tradition of “urban design.”

In accordance with the Dublin Descriptors (DdD), passing the exam certifies the achievement of the following learning outcomes:

DdD 1_Knowledge and understanding of the fundamental theoretical and methodological elements of interior architecture, and their application to the design process for transforming spaces at the scale of the “urban interior,” considering both historical origins and contemporary perspectives.

DdD 2_Ability to apply knowledge and understanding to manage construction tools and compositional aspects, thereby governing the qualitative relationships of architectural forms and spaces within historical, archaeological, and contemporary contexts.

DdD 3_Ability to make design decisions independently.

DdD 4_Ability to communicate design decisions clearly and convincingly.

DdD 5_Acquisition of a level of design maturity that enables the student to tackle subsequent scales of architectural design. Contribution of the course to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

· Target 11.3 By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

· Target 11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage

· Target 11.7 By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities

· Target 11.a Support positive economic, social, and environmental links between urban, peri-urban, and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

In accordance with the University’s Teaching Regulations and the Degree Programme’s Teaching Regulations, attendance is mandatory for courses designated as “Laboratories.” Students may request a full or partial exemption from the attendance requirement for serious and/or justified reasons. Such exemptions are granted by the Degree Programme Board and must simultaneously ensure the student's eligibility to sit the corresponding exams.

To be admitted to the exam, students must have attended 70% of the course lectures.

In the first part of the course, students will work on drawings—at various scales—of the built-up area and urban surroundings of Niscemi; these plans must clearly reveal the role that pre-existing elements played in prefiguring, and often dictating, the city's form.

This work on the "Drawing of the City" will provide the foundation for the tasks to be undertaken in the second part of the course. Students will focus on designing public spaces—within both established and undeveloped urban fabric—driven by the need to reconfigure the urban structure to meet modern requirements, while taking as their starting point the very pre-existing elements that have shaped and sustained the city's character over time. Each project will be presented through a triptych—featuring three different scales, a view, and a model—serving simultaneously as tools for both representation and design.

Adolf Loos, *Parole nel vuoto*, available in various editions

Francesco Venezia, *Scritti brevi 1975–1989*, Clean, Naples 1990

Giorgio Grassi, *Leon Battista Alberti e l’architettura romana*, Franco Angeli, Milan 2007

Aldo Rossi, *L'architettura della città*, available in various editions

Luigi Pellegrino, "Archeologia materia e forma della città," in: *Il paesaggio dell’archeologia: Tre occasioni per fare città*, LetteraVentidue, Syracuse 2018

The exam consists of a presentation by the student of the urban design and drawing exercises completed during the workshop, with particular emphasis on the process and the underlying conceptual and relational framework. Knowledge of the texts and projects analyzed and/or presented during the course is also required.

Assessment may also be conducted remotely, should circumstances require it.

To ensure equal opportunities and compliance with current regulations, interested students may request a personal meeting to arrange any necessary compensatory and/or dispensatory measures, tailored to educational objectives and specific needs. Students may also contact the designated CInAP (Center for Active and Participatory Integration — Services for Disabilities and/or Specific Learning Disorders) representative for their Department (https://www.cinap.unict.it/content/referenti).