Dpto. Proyectos, Teoría y Técnica del Diseño y la Arquitectura

The development of the skills and knowledge of architecture students is largely shaped during their study at a Faculty of Architecture. There is another way of improving student knowledge of architecture and urban planning. Apart from Erasmus programmes, there are also other international academic and education programmes as well as international workshops. The Activation of the Public Spaces of Historical City Centres Based on Local Communities, jointly conducted by the Faculty of Architecture of the Cracow University of Technology and the Technical School of the University CEU Cardenal Herrera in Valencia, is one such programme. The outcomes of this form of teaching include not only the knowledge and skills allowing one to deal with new conditions that young people have to face while being put through a lot of stress, but also the effort they put into multiple-days-long conferences, workshops or the preparation of their Bachelor’s in engineering projects. International cooperation and workshops participation have contributed to the enhancement of knowledge about architecture and to the development of participating students’ characters.

In the twenties of the 20th century, architects experimented with the dilemma of what housing should be for modern life. The issue was discussed in The Modern Architecture Congresses and especially in 1929 in the second edition of CIAM held in Frankfurt, with the title existenzminimum that explored the possibilities of minimal housing, proposing new models of living. Later, after the destruction of the Second World War, the problem was located in the optimization of the domestic space and the standardised construction that would solve the lack of housing. The Modern Movement defined the foundations of this domestic restlessness by transgressing ancient habits, exploring abstraction, and eliminating the superfluous, which contrasts with the habit of the users of adding alien elements to the architectural space. We could explain the design of the home as an equation formed by the addition of parameters such as; the house, the furniture, the users and their belongings. The architect has mastery over the design of the house and as much about the furniture. The defence of Adolf Loos of the "complete design" that prevented the inhabitant from introducing anything without the supervision of the architect seems utopian and excessive. The resistance and the obstruction of the user is an interference impossible to eliminate. Some architects have developed archetypes of new ways of life in their design of houses. This text raises a thought about this equation where the architect tries to minimize the elements that distort the perception of the domestic space exploring a particular experimental concept.

Historically, the tallest buildings to be built in New York were office towers. Their height is one of the defining characteristics of Manhattan’s development, and the city’s skyline, filled with towering buildings, is recognisable all over the world. In the twenty-first century, this skyline is also formed by residential towers. We analysed the situation and evolution of housing buildings on Manhattan, buildings that are often built in place of former office buildings. Based on our research, we have observed the existence of two trajectories in the design of twenty-first-century housing in New York. The first is the functional trend and it is based on an increasing hybridisation of function. The second is the trend of height, which is closely linked with developing technological potential, and which often adversely affects access to insolation on lower storeys and to cross-ventilation. We analysed selected cases of buildings and discussed the relationships between these two architectural currents and their impact on the image and composition of the city.

Residential towers undeniably changed the reality that surrounds us. Vertical structures have influenced the landscape of cities by shaping new, previously unknown panoramas. Infinite peripheries were split and reassembled again in the vertical form. Is it possible to create a comfortable living space in a small area? Can residential towers fit into a fully fledged and well-functioning urban structure? Problematic aspects of this scenario are discussed on the basis of the most representative example in the world, which is Manhattan, located in New York City. Analysis of the urban structure of specific districts and examples of residential towers enables the presentation of the differences, advantages and disadvantages resulting from a specific given forms of architecture and urban planning.

Carlo Scarpa, considerado como uno de los maestros de la arquitectura moderna de la segunda mitad del siglo XX, conjuga arquitectura y diseño mediante una metodología proyectual que prioriza la reflexión gráfica frente a la inspiración inmediata. Su escrupuloso proceso creativo se refleja en la documentación gráfica del arquitecto que progresivamente ha ido concentrándose en el archivo de arquitectura del MAXXI de Roma. Los aproximadamente treinta mil documentos del archivo permiten entender y secuenciar su proceso proyectual, que utilizaba el dibujo como herramienta central creativa y de reflexión. Este artículo pretende profundizar en el proceso de pensamiento creativo, analizando las técnicas y procedimientos gráficos que el arquitecto veneciano utilizó a la hora de abordar el diseño de sus proyectos, así como su evolución durante sus años de profesión. La investigación requirió del estudio comparativo de los documentos gráficos, revelando ejemplos inéditos que ilustran la esencia de lo planteado. Para la ordenación de ideas y de la secuencia evolutiva de su método, se recurrió al análisis de escritos relevantes, entrevistas y transcripciones de sus clases, ordenando cronológicamente los documentos gráficos para poder evidenciar los cambios suscitados a lo largo del tiempo. De este análisis se concluye que Scarpa presenta una sensibilidad creativa única, guiada por una búsqueda de la perfección que lo llevará a un nivel de depuración y sofisticación del método proyectual en el que destaca su capacidad para usar el dibujo como instrumento de pensamiento, diseño y comunicación.