As part of the course entitled “Advanced Topical Design Studio: Urban”, Professor Carlo Achilli organized a series of lectures addressing topics of urban renovation in Italian and European city centers. The lectures took place at Palazzo Bargagli (ISI Florence), the Università di Firenze (Department of Architecture), and several Florence-based architecture firms. The lectures, seminars, and workshops were topped off with a four-day field trip to Rotterdam (Netherlands). Students experienced first-hand many of the subjects introduced in the course: urban design and renewal, modern architecture in relation to the cityscape and its architectural context.
Guest lectures were delivered by:
Architect Mario Pittalis, City of Florence Urban Development Office.
Architect Marco Guerrazzi, City of Pisa Urban Development Office.
Professor Gabriele Bartocci, USI Università della Svizzera Italiana (Mendrisio, Switzerland).
Professor Paolo Di Nardo, Università di Firenze.
Architect Salvatore Re, Leonardo Group.
Architect Giuseppe Giusto, Mimesi 62.
Rotterdam Field Trip
Rotterdam is a great destination for a four-day excursion. As architecture students, we appreciated the city from a particular perspective. Rotterdam was significantly rebuilt after World War II, which is the reason why it is known today for its bold and modern architecture.
On Friday April 8, we ventured to discover some of its architecture ourselves. We admired buildings such as De Rotterdam by Rem Koolhaas, the KPN building by Renzo Piano, the Erasmusbrug Bridge, as well as being able to explore the Kunsthal Museum by Rem Koolhaas. At the Het Nieuwe Instituut, we visited the exhibits and ended our time at the museum with a tour of the library archives. The man who graciously showed us around the archives provided us with information about the collection of approximately 1.5 million drawings and 300,000 pictures. He said that the collection was more about ideas than buildings, as over half of the projects were never completed. However, the most remarkable part of this visit was the opportunity to see some of the archives, including original hand drawings by Gerrit Rietveld.
On Saturday, local architect Huub Scholten led us on a grand biking tour of the city’s architecture. Our first stop was an office building, Groothandelsgebouw, built in 1949. Scholten guided us to other sites such as the Van Nelle Factory, the Witte Huis, the Peperclip Housing, and the Kubuswoning, better known as the Cube Houses, which we visited inside. It was surprising to see how Piet Blom managed to build a house within a rotated cube. The design of the housing complex is linked directly to Florence, as Blom took inspiration from the Ponte Vecchio to create raised housing that would float over the city. Scholten left us with the knowledge of where the city has succeeded after the war and where it has fallen short, allowing us to expand our view as future architects.
Amanda Duarte (RWU Arch.)