Escuela Superior de Enseñanzas Técnicas

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.

This paper synthesizes how three Research Units from three European universities launched a research and didactic program assuming an on-field approach to explore innovative methods of public space activation. The initiative has adopted the formula of three itinerating intensive workshops involving 45 students and ten tutors covering multidisciplinary fields (from Architectural and Urban Design to Environmental Design) to define new kinds of design approaches stimulating both project makers and local communities. This alternative pedagogic method allows students (coming from majors in architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture post-graduate courses) to test innovative approaches in response to local needs. By teaming up with colleagues and teachers familiar with the local environment, the participants can fasten the process of site understanding in terms of historical and current issues. At the same time, a survey on participants’ satisfaction has estimated the program’s performance outcomes. Results initially contribute to reformulating intensive teaching modalities like workshops, providing valuable insights for future experiences.

Estos últimos años y principalmente tras el periodo pandémico, la extendida utilización de las herramientas digitales ha motivado un incremento de su uso para el desarrollo de actividades docentes. Estas herramientas tienen un especial interés con técnicas como los COIL o Collaborative Online International Learning que, aún con innumerables beneficios, también presentan ciertas limitaciones que, dependiendo de la actividad en la que se aplicar, pueden perder parte de su potencial. En este sentido, tres universidades europeas de diferentes países, promovieron bajo el amparo de un programa Erasmus+, volver a realizar actividades presenciales con alumnos aprovechado también los beneficios del formato COIL en un sistema hibrido. Este proyecto tiene por objetivo promover la activación de los espacios públicos en los centros de las ciudades, por lo que se hace necesario la presencialidad de los participantes, aunque parte de las actividades previas al trabajo presencial se pretenden desarrollar en seminarios online. La comunicación propuesta trata de exponer el proyecto realizado por tres escuelas de arquitectura, desarrollado bajo una metodología que ha tratado de entrelazar la actividad presencial y online, aprovechando las ventajas de cada una de ellas.