Students should be enabled to detect problems and potentials of specific situations, to derive indicatory planning questions and answer them with the means of conceptual urban designs. Space-Making should be conceived as an integral and transdisciplinary task and creative challenge.
Small town between the poles of two urban hubs
Small towns in proximity of metropolises increasingly come under pressure. Due to their geographical closeness, important functions such as working, education, health and shopping are progressivly being provided by the big urban hubs. In this process, small towns lose their function and their identity. In times of location-independent communication and services, can this process be stopped? How can small towns be supported in giving them back their functionality or redefining themselves? What should small towns provide, in order to make long-term, sustainable developments possible?
This design studio will work on the case study of the middleitalian small town Capranica. Capranica has about 6000 inhabitants and is located inbetween two urban hubs ¿ about 50 km from Rome (3 million inhabitans) and 25 km from Viterbo (ca. 70.000 inhabitants). In the past twenty years Capranica has undergone a structural change not only due to changing economic conditions. The local building industry ¿ an important economic factor ¿ is declining. Industrial and commercial activities are reducing and the number of commuters has risen significantly.
In a thorough location analyzes ¿ also in context with the two cities ¿ factors such as historical identity and geographical location are to be examined. Existing qualities of the site should be identified as the base of the semesterproject. Rather than a ¿classic urban design¿ as in a constructional project, we are looking for a series of interventions. These interventions should contribute to creating a new social identity and economic possibilities based on existing potentials. Key terms such as ¿reuseing¿, ¿re-zoning¿, ¿rethinking¿, ¿adapting¿ and ¿revitalization¿ next to participation, cooperation and coexistenz should give food for thought.
