Escuela de Politécnica Superior

The INARQ innovation project was designed and implemented during the first semester of the 2021‐2022 academic year in the Architecture degree, from the subjects of "Form Analysis I" and "Introduction to Architecture" within the framework of the Exploria project. Its main goal was to increase the motivation of the students, enhancing their creative interpretation of the architectural fact. The strategy was based on designing an emotional approach to Architecture from other Arts, in order to encourage its holistic understanding. The initiative also sought to introduce students to the language of theoretical and graphic abstraction as a tool for thought and expression, as well as to enrich their perceptive, analytical, and interpretative skills in their understanding of architecture. Under this innovative approach, the classroom and drawing workshop work was complemented with the study of bibliographic references, on‐site experience (visits to buildings in Madrid), lectures, visits to exhibitions, individual presentations, and critical sessions with other classmates. The activity favoured the existing synergies between both subjects, and the motivation of students and teachers to take on new challenges, proving that learning transcends the physical and temporal framework of the classroom, expanding the regulated spaces and schedules, to promote at the same time the transversal learning based on other Arts as an innovative way of Teaching/Learning.

A growing city adapts and transforms the pre-existing topography, and with its urban fabric defines an ever-changing contour throughout history; this contour is not a clear line, but rather a fringe, where city and countryside meet and create occupancy systems that are crucial to comprehend the evolution of the urban form. We can consider this fringe as ‘proximity’ landscapes: landscapes that are perceived when the city is either a destination or a point of departure. The vision from afar, or when progressively approaching the city, provides both locals and tourists with certain landscape and architectural aspects that should be studied, preserved and valued for their ability to generate meaningful spaces. In this communication we study the surrounding landscapes of Madrid by means of a Landscape Character Assessment, within the framework of the project ‘Proximity landscapes of the city of Madrid. From the 19thC to the present’ currently in process. Combining graphic analysis of historical cartography at a metropolitan scale with perceptive analysis techniques, special attention is drawn to certain axes and significant lookouts of the city, mapping them and evaluating their visual basins. This characterization leads to distinguishing three main landscape types surrounding Madrid, according to physical, natural and anthropogenic structures: one predominantly natural, one mainly industrial and service-related, and a third one with special historical relevance.