LAB - Learning from Abroad

Ise Jingū in Mie Prefecture, Japan, founded in 4 BCE, is rebuilt every 20 years in a ritual called Shikinen Sengū. Two adjacent sites of equal size, located along an east-west axis, are used alternately for reconstruction, with the old shrine dismantled after the new one is built. The current shrine is the 62nd iteration, completed in 2013, with the next planned for 2033.
This example shows that in Japan, preserving the original form is highly valued. Conversely, if this value is not recognized, demolition often becomes the default scenario, particularly for buildings constructed from the nineteenth century onward.
In Rome, architecture of existing heritage—such as that found on the Roma Tre University campus—is often preserved through architectural interventions that enable reuse or transformation. These interventions vary: some are visually discreet, others boldly contemporary; some highlight contrasts between past and present, while others blend into the original structure.
In this design studio, we will investigate architectural interventions into existing heritage. Rather than studying such interventions solely as examples of preservation, we will consider them as design methodologies capable of generating new architectural proposals. The objective of the studio is to apply these methodologies to the development of an architectural design proposal.
The studio consists of two phases. In the first phase, students will investigate a series of case studies in order to classify and conceptualize various methods of architectural intervention. Through comparative analysis, they will identify how additions to existing buildings operate as design strategies. In the second phase, students will apply the strategies identified through analysis to the design of a collective housing proposal with a gross floor area of no less than 1,000 square meters. Through an architectural intervention into an existing building selected by each student, they will develop an architectural proposal informed by the design strategies discovered in the first phase.
Through this process, the studio aims to understand how strategies derived from architectural intervention can inform the design of new architecture.

Maximum number of students admitted: 15

Attendance is mandatory for 75% of the course.

Ise Jingū in Mie Prefecture, Japan, founded in 4 BCE, is rebuilt every 20 years in a ritual called Shikinen Sengū. Two adjacent sites of equal size, located along an east-west axis, are used alternately for reconstruction, with the old shrine dismantled after the new one is built. The current shrine is the 62nd iteration, completed in 2013, with the next planned for 2033.
This example shows that in Japan, preserving the original form is highly valued. Conversely, if this value is not recognized, demolition often becomes the default scenario, particularly for buildings constructed from the nineteenth century onward.
In Rome, architecture of existing heritage—such as that found on the Roma Tre University campus—is often preserved through architectural interventions that enable reuse or transformation. These interventions vary: some are visually discreet, others boldly contemporary; some highlight contrasts between past and present, while others blend into the original structure.
In this design studio, we will investigate architectural interventions into existing heritage. Rather than studying such interventions solely as examples of preservation, we will consider them as design methodologies capable of generating new architectural proposals. The objective of the studio is to apply these methodologies to the development of an architectural design proposal.
The studio consists of two phases. In the first phase, students will investigate a series of case studies in order to classify and conceptualize various methods of architectural intervention. Through comparative analysis, they will identify how additions to existing buildings operate as design strategies. In the second phase, students will apply the strategies identified through analysis to the design of a collective housing proposal with a gross floor area of no less than 1,000 square meters. Through an architectural intervention into an existing building selected by each student, they will develop an architectural proposal informed by the design strategies discovered in the first phase.
Through this process, the studio aims to understand how strategies derived from architectural intervention can inform the design of new architecture.

Maximum number of students admitted: 15

Attendance is mandatory for 75% of the course.