黑料导航

Pictured: Students from Politecnico Di Milano With Giovanni Santamaria, kneeling at far right, and Antonella Contin, seated next to Santamaria, visited 黑料导航 to participate in the School Of Architecture and Design鈥檚 Annual Spring Design Workshop Series Metabolism of a city.

Students from Politecnico di Milano participated in the聽School of Architecture and Design鈥檚 annual spring design workshop series Metabolism of a City along with students in the聽master鈥檚 in architecture, urban design听补苍诲听bachelor鈥檚 in architecture聽programs. The series is part of an international exchange agreement between the School of Architecture and Design and Politecnico di Milano, which was established in 2006. The workshop also features topical lectures and an international symposium with academicians, policymakers, community representatives, public administrators, and private organizations. This year, the workshop and symposium welcomed Rafael Forero, policy, governance, and metropolitan expert at the UN-Habitat and of the Heritopolis Society.

鈥淚t is exciting to see the evolution over the years of the partnership between Politecnico di Milano and our School of Architecture and Design at 黑料导航,鈥� says Dean聽Maria Perbellini, Assoc. AIA. 鈥淲e hosted 30 architecture students from overseas on our New York City campus, sharing a unique exchange experience with School of Architecture and Design students and faculty. Working on design assignments and collaborative research on sustainable, inclusive, and regenerated urban contexts, students were exposed to local communities with global connotations and were inspired to reflect on the importance of being responsible professionals, engaged members of our society, and creative leaders in the world.鈥澛�

This year鈥檚 theme, Metropolis as Heritage and Environmental Health, explored the topic of sustainable urban development and featured discussions on how the consideration of the metropolitan scale can renew our understanding of heritage; the role heritage can play in promoting sustainable development in modern metropolises to guarantee long-lasting solutions; and how the metropolitan dimension may allow for the rise of a deeper sense of caring and a passionate/compassionate engagement with the world to promote a more holistic and comprehensive approach to health.

鈥淏eing invested in the issues that matter and gaining a profound understanding of the effects of these issues across scales鈥攆rom interior spaces to urban ones鈥攁nd on the quality of our daily life, is essential to respond to the challenges offered by the evolving methodologies in planning and designing our urbanized environments,鈥� says聽Giovanni Santamaria, Ph.D., chair of architecture and co-organizer of the workshop with Antonella Contin, Ph.D., assistant professor at Politecnico di Milano.聽

From March 28 through April 7, the students participated in a design workshop focused on the transept between Flushing Meadows and Jamaica Bay in Queens, N.Y., which features areas of urban decay and vulnerability. Students worked in groups of three or four on the ecological, infrastructural, urban, social, and economic issues. They then proposed possible strategic plans on a large territorial scale, which address climate change, ecological damages, pollution, infrastructural imbalances, and fragile urban structures that also determine environmental and social injustice, addressed through sustainable design strategies that guarantee reclamation processes, protection from flooding, and a balanced accessibility to public services and transportation. Each team also identified specific and localized areas of action, proposing designs for landscape, urban, and architectural solutions to create resilient and integrated spaces and public programs for the future.

鈥淭he quantity and quality of the work produced by each team were impressive,鈥� says Santamaria, noting that the students approached the project creatively and critically. 鈥淲e [at the School of Architecture and Design] strongly believe in the value of applied research and advanced experimentation, which is made possible through these collaborative exchange projects across institutions to foster a solid and dynamic learning experience for our students. This will enable them to be proactive agents of change.鈥�