Curricular Unit:			Code:
Urban Intervention Project II			1203PIU2
Year:	Level:	Course:	Credits:
4	Master	Architecture	12 ects
Learning Period:		Language of Instruction:	Total Hours:
Spring Semester		Portuguese/English	156
Learning Outcomes of the Curricular Unit:
The course aims to prepare the student to diagnose the main problems of urban character regarding an urban area of medium dimension, morphologically non-consolidated or heterogeneous, elaborating on the interdependencies between urban dynamics, urban morphology and architectonic/functional typologies. As a consequence, the student should be able to propose a project of urban restructuring consistent with the previously produced diagnosis, exploring various thematic domains and seeking to integrate in the process the diverse stimuli and conditionings that characterise the urban context, seizing them as project resources. In the process, the student will become capable of dominating the different project phases/scales, the formal and functional structure of the proposal and the interaction between these and the legal planning regulations applicable, as well as to support theoretically their project options and also clearly communicate the results orally, visually and in writing.
Syllabus:
1. The analysis of public space and of the elements of space characterisation at an urban scale 1.1. Urban fabric(s) and urban space(s) 1.2. Modes/instruments and elements of urban characterisation 2. Restructuring and urban forms 2.1. Urban Setting 2.2. Urban Morphology 2.3. Typology of urban public spaces 2.4. Form/function articulation 3. Constructing urban space 3.1. Materialisation and uses 3.2. Design and regulation. 3.3. Comfort and urban equipment
Demonstration of the Syllabus Coherence with the Curricular Unit's Objectives:
Chapter 1 familiarises the student with the main aspects that inform urban analysis at a city’s sector scale, from the recognition of the articulation between urban fabrics and urban spaces (ways/instruments/elements), guiding him in the systematization of knowledge that allows him to diagnose the intervention site. Chapter 2 brings forth the fundamental issues of «urban form» and their application in the project area, focusing on the articulated control of the geophysical and morphological aspects, particularly the ones that have higher expression in public space design. Chapter 3 addresses the materialisation of the proposal focusing on the «creative» conciliation between a diverse set of aspects: of construction, regulation and comfort/equipment. Sections 2 and 3 support the restructuring proposal for the intervention area clarifying for the student the various «mandatory» topics that the project should incorporate as well as others that may be specific of his project options.
Teaching Methodologies (Including Evaluation):
The methodology of this CU consists, essentially, of tutorial guidance, supported and complemented by lectures and collective class debates. In parallel with the project development, three short-span exercises are proposed: one of a practical nature that directly feeds the project's process, and two of a theoretical character that require critical thought about the ongoing work. The assessment method is divided in two components: the practical-experimental component – that integrates two project presentations, one exercise of space definition at the construction level and the evaluation of the student’s performance throughout the semester – and the theoretical component, based on two exercises – the critical analysis of a public space, similar in scope to the project's, and the elaboration of an individual portfolio. The final grade will be the result from the achieved classification in each one of this assessment moments, which will be accounted in different percentages.
Demonstration of the Coherence between the Teaching Methodologies and the Learning Outcomes:
The tutorial supervision, the main support of knowledge transmission in this CU, allows the student’s individual orientation, responding to the comprehension difficulties and gaps of each student, but also stimulating each one’s potentialities. It is, thus, a fairer teaching method, within the inequality it assumes, that more easily fits with appropriate guidance, both to different kinds of students and their individual process/progress, and to the different project outcomes. The development of this process in class enables and encourages the discussion between students and within the class group as a parallel process of learning, which is converted in «informal (guided) debate» whenever pertinent. Lectures intend to inform the class about aspects of more abstract/general character, whether related to the analysis and proposal processes, with their representation or with the approach to the case study area's specificities, in order to establish a common collective basis for the above mentioned individual supervision. It is, therefore, assured to the student a personalised orientation adjusted to his progress, that follows the ideas of each student, seeking to fill in their gaps and explore their potential, encouraging a work/study process that goes beyond the contact hours and, in the end, contributing to optimise these. Simultaneously, the need to use adequate justification sustaining the design outcomes promotes the student’s responsibility for the choices made and supports his gradual autonomy. At the beginning of the semester, an individual 3 week long exercise of a theoretical character, underpins the central theme of the project to be developed during the semester – public space – and brings forth the first thoughts on its form throughout the critical and interpretative analysis of a set of public spaces of Porto. At the end, this exercise allows the gathering of a cluster of information that sustains the rise of individual processes of deepening the early analysis and of project. By the semester's end, the development of an exercise of a practical nature focuses on the construction of one of the public spaces proposed by the student, exploring the construction detailing, relating it to its form/function, in a kind of rehearsal for the final detailing. The last exercise, again of a theoretical nature – the portfolio – to be presented in the last session of the semester, aims to confront the student with his individual development path, contributing to the awareness of his own design process through an exercise of self-assessment, which is the basis of every evolution.
Reading:
[1] Bacon, E. (1995). Design of Cities. Nova York. Penguin Books (Ed. Orig. 1969). [2] Carmona, M.; Tiesdell, S. (eds) (2007). Urban Design Reader. Elsevier. [3] Cullen, G. (1996). Paisagem Urbana. Lisboa. Edições 70 (Ed. Orig. 1971). [4] Fernandes, F.; Cannatá, M. (2003). Formas Urbanas/Urban Shapes. Porto. Edições ASA. [5] Manguin, D.; Panerai, P. (1999). Projet Urbain. Marselha. Éditions Parenthèses. [6] Moughtin, C.; Mertens. M. (2006). Urban Design – Street and Square. Oxford. Architectural Press. [7] Brandão, P. et al. (2002). O chão da cidade – guia de avaliação do design de espaço público. Lisboa. Centro Português de Design. [8] Recomendaciones para el proyecto y diseño del viario urbano (2000). Espanha. Ministerio de Fomento.