ARCHITETTURA E COMPOSIZIONE ARCHITETTONICA I E LABORATORIO ARCHITETTURA E COMPOSIZIONE ARCHITETTONICA I

Module ARCHITECTURE AND ARCHITECTURAL COMPOSITION I

The aim of the course is to provide students with the conceptual and representation tools necessary for understanding and developing the processes of spatial organisation and generation of configurations. The course intends to stimulate the growth of a design creativity that integrates in a natural way all the aspects connected with the architectural design process.

The course is divided into two intertwined parts that focus on specific aspects of learning.

- 1 Cycle of theoretical lectures supplemented by in-depth studies and analysis work
The theoretical lectures focus on topics related to the methodological approach of the architectural design process and the resolution of particular problems of architectural composition. They are accompanied by a series of communications with a rich visual documentation. The theoretical lessons are supplemented by in-depth study and analysis by the students, aimed at experimenting with active and inclusive learning and supported by innovative online learning platforms. The students' reading of texts selected by the instructor and the subsequent discussion in a round table are an introduction to the world of architectural design and a stimulus for theoretical investigation of related issues.The programme also includes meetings with guests whose contribution, also from other disciplines, contributes to the definition of the problems of the architectural project to be carried out during the course.

- 2 Design workshop: Design of a visitor center for the 1669 lava flow in Catania.

The course, which is supported by a parallel workshop, takes place over one semester, during which the teaching sequence is developed in a unified and integrated manner. Learning takes place through the discovery and in-depth study of relevant architectural references and the comparison with exemplary works of 20th and 21st century architectural design culture. It also includes the acquisition of representation tools (sketches, drawings and maquette), necessary for learning to see, accompany and verify the genesis of the project. The use of geometry, the respect for the human dimension and elementary control of construction practices must be gradually internalised by the students. What matters first and foremost, at the first design experience, is to develop an aptitude for design understood as control of space, integration between context and programme, between constructive and figurative aspects, between individual and social instances, and not least as the representation of precise ideas; the objective is to experiment with and get to know the rules for escaping arbitrariness, having acquired them it is possible, at a later stage, to explore possible ways of overcoming and 'bypassing' them. It is thus necessary for the creative process to be characterised by a profound awareness of the choices made and an evident clarity in the exposition of the ideas that animate it.
Once the students have become familiar with the architectural design processes and the physical elements that allow them to define an architecturally complete space, both through the theoretical lessons and during the ongoing laboratory tests, they are asked to synthesise and organically recompose their thoughts.
The design theme is developed through successive in-depth studies, with gradual changes of scale. Students are stimulated to simulate a design process in all its phases, from the definition of the strategic framework and the urban-environmental framework to the identification of the specific requirements and the functional programme for the architecture to be designed.
The design process includes:
- 1 The identification of guiding ideas, concepts, logics and strategic reflections;
- 2 The spatial and volumetric definition of the planned buildings, with particular attention to the contribution of natural light, internal spaces and relations with the context, integration of construction, functional, spatial and architectural aspects of architecture. 
- 3 A care and research work on graphic expression and the creation of models, both in the elaboration phase and in the final presentation, intended as a useful training ground for cultivating a personal and original sensitivity.
The project must be defined by means of graphics and models, the presentation of which will be provided by the teacher at the appropriate time.

Bocchi R., Progettare lo spazio e il movimento, Gangemi Editore Roma 2009 [D-i-118]
Calvagna S. (2017), Fabrica Complessità Progetto, Gangemi Editore, Roma. [E-c-206]
Cao U. (1995), Elementi di progettazione architettonica, Laterza Bari. In particolare il Cap. 4 (Modulo ELEMENTI) [Da 418]
Davies C., Il primo libro di architettura, Einaudi Torino 2011 [Cc 745]
Frampton, K., Tettonica e architettura. Poetica della forma architettonica nel XIX e XX secolo, Ed. Skira, Milano 1999. [Cb 318]
Monestiroli, A., La metopa e il triglifo, Editori Laterza, Roma 2002. [C-a-566]  

Rappresentazione del progetto
Porter T., Goodman S., Basic Design, Club Città Studi Milano 1991
B. Edward. Il nuovo disegnare con la parte destra del cervello, Longanesi, Milano 2002
Gulinello F., Mucelli E., Modelli. Costruire lo spazio, LetteraVentidue Edizioni, Siracusa 2019

The examinations are individual and consist in an interview on the theoretical topics covered in the lessons and in the presentation and discussion by the students of the exercises carried out in the classroom and of the final project, emphasising, during the interview, the relevant cultural, figurative, typological and structural matrices; the overall assessment takes into account the work carried out in the operational phases as well as the verification of the critical and compositional skills achieved, the spatial control attained and the level of maturity of the design ideas expressed in the final project.

The student briefly presents the project developed in the group, with the support of the graphic tables and models produced.
The individual interview starts from the insights made by the student or exemplary architectures recurring in the reflections made during the theoretical lessons. Students are asked to articulate a personal reflection, with the support of visual documentation, arguing about the categories addressed in the lessons relating to the following themes
architectural space: the "loaded void"
the partition of interior space
the roof/basement binomial
the wall/openings binomial
complexity and design