Reading cities

Architecture

Lecture and exercises in the visual analysis of urban form. Various media are taught and encouraged: sketching, watercolor, photographs, video, etc. The course is focused on a series of field trips to cities of architectural and urban significance. These include Rome, Verona, Venice, Milan. The tours cover historical architecture and urban fabrics, as well as Modern and contemporary intervention that bear significant importance in the transformation of the existing context.

Spring 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Venice.
Spring 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Venice.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Rome.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Rome.
Visit to the MAXXI Museum by Zaha Hadid Architects.
Spring 2024, Reading Cities field trip to Rome.
Spring 2024, Reading Cities field trip to Rome.
Visit to St. Ivo alla Sapienza by Francesco Borromini.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Milan.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Milan.
In the auditorium of the new Bocconi University addition by Grafton Architects.
Fall 2013, Reading Cities field trip to Milan.
Fall 2013, Reading Cities field trip to Milan.
On the rooftop of the Cathedral.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Verona.
Fall 2014, Reading Cities field trip to Verona.
Visit to Castelvecchio Museum by Carlo Scarpa.

The course provides an understanding of the Italian urban tradition through the study of selected cities of historical and contemporary cultural importance, whose richness and articulation in the built environment offer invaluable lessons to students in the various design disciplines (architecture, interior design, landscape design, urban design). The course aims at having the students appreciate how “reading” the built environment can become a learning experience in design.