Contents and training objectives.
In continuity teaching with the teachings of the disciplines of the Disciplinary Scientific Sector ICAR 17 DRAWING - of the first and second year of the Master Degree in Single Cycle Architecture LM-4 (5 years), of the Department of Architecture of the University "G. d'Annunzio "of Chieti-Pescara -, the main objective of the teaching of" Design of Architecture "(8 CFU, third year) is the thematic deepening and experimentation of the various theoretical and operational components concealed in the" Idea of architectural representation.
The main formative aims of the teaching of "Architectural Design" are the refinement, expansion, deepening and experimentation of the theoretical and practical "tools" of architectural representation, necessary to understand, measure, conceive and communicate the architectural space (real and virtual), in all its multiple aesthetic-scalar declinations, "from the spoon to the city" (recalling a concept used in the last century).
The main learning outcomes correspond to these goals.
The teaching planning of the course is structured in two main cognitive-processing fields, summarized in the following contents:
- History of the Architectural Representation;
- Methods and Techniques of Representation of the Architectural Space (real and virtual).
In the proposed educational path, these two vast thematic contents of architectural representation complement each other and form a single teaching, "Design of Architecture", which corresponds to a single final evaluation.
History of the Architectural Representation.
In the theoretical-elaborative context of "History of the Architectural Representation" the main visual-cultural references for the architectural design will be illustrated, taken from the solid Italian and international visual experiences and from the contemporary interdisciplinary creative context.
In particular, the methods and techniques of architectural representation will be contextualised and studied within an historical-evolutionary path, in which one can critically analyze and process the historical-architectural "data".
Methods and Techniques of Representation of the Architectural Space (real and virtual).
In this theoretical-operative context, the most advanced "methods" of representation for the analysis, communication and expression of the architectural space (real and virtual) will be investigated and tested.
The scientific principles and methods of projective geometry will be verified and related to the project, that is, the ways of "depicting", oriented to the appropriate communication of architectural thought.
This means experimenting with the various potentialities of the methods of representation in the conscious conformation of spatial models.
These studies will be particularly focused on the analysis of the relationships between architecture and digital techno-culture, in which the role of the medium of representation plays a fundamental role.
In this context, the latest techno-cultural developments of design in the digital environment will be analyzed and its representative / conformative role will be evaluated.
Therefore, the relationships between "representation and conformation" assumed by the design of contemporary architecture will be studied and tested. In particular, the interdisciplinary relations between the so-called "representation tools" - for example, we think of the powerful digital processing and visualization mediums - and the processes of designing architecture - for example, in the configuration of interactive environments, online and offline -, they offer interesting elements of study to understand the model of representation expressed by contemporary techno-culture. A study, therefore, on the role that "tools" of representation play today in the development of architecture. The "tools" are not aseptic towards the processes of creative elaboration, it is about conquering the necessary technical and expressive awareness to learn to "keep the direction" of a complex phenomenon, as is that of the "habitable" space project (real and virtual).
Finally, the most "design" part of the teaching will be tested, with respect to which all the acquired knowledge will be related, up to elaborate the theme of the year (object of the workshop), focusing mainly on the representation of the so-called "Virtual City".
Theme of the year.
With respect to this educational offer and considering the value of the 8 CFUs of teaching, the theme of the year (object of the workshop) is mainly focused on the study and experimentation of the contemporary "Representation of the Virtual City", in its multiple representations / conformations : Relief (from Worlds to Cities to Maps) and References of Virtual Living; Between Relief and Virtual City Project (elaboration of the "Semantic Model"); The Virtual City Project.
Thus emerges the interdisciplinary theme of contemporary "Virtual Living", which can be experienced primarily through representation.
These concepts are summarized by the expression "Virtual Living means Representation", where we want to highlight, in particular, the strategic role played by the visual culture in the conformation of the computer interface, in many of its applications and, in particular, in setting up the "habitable" space for information (online and offline). For example, we think of our "living on the web" through social media and we simply observe that without a representation project there is no transmission and sharing of information and knowledge.