LEARNING BY DOING AS PRE-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN EDUCATIONAL URBANISM AND ARCHITECTURE: THREE CASE STUDIES IN THE SOUTHERN ITALY

The paper shows the results of three different experiences of learning by doing in Educational Urbanism ad Architecture Programs, aimed to purpose a possible strategy able to guarantee a alliance and a collimation between pedagogy, mostly under the point of view of dynamic programming, and pre-professional practice, above all in terms of problem solving strategies. It is interesting to note that the working group was composed by very different figures, not only in terms of background, because coming from both academician and professional contest, but also in terms of expertise and scientific interests (urbanism, technology, restoration) and experience (professors, young researchers, final year students). The first experience regards the purpose of urban regeneration of Bella Neighborhood, a historic settlement, founded in the nineteenth century and pertaining to Lamezia Terme town, Calabria, Italy. The specific object of interest has seen the working group addressing three main topics: urban renewal, technological improvement, preservation of historical heritage. In this case, the district and the issues were not chosen by the working group, but by the Municipality of Lamezia Terme, like in a ordinary professional engagement, and the final project proposals were presented during a workshop, aimed to obtain feedback and suggestions from administrators, technicians, citizens. In this case the ambition of this project to be expression of needs, demands and expectations of administrators and citizens was not only a way to offer students a realistic professional opportunity, but also a way to purpose a collimation between pedagogy and practice. The second and the third cases regard the participation of the same working group to two international competitions, the adaptive reuse project for the National Archeological Museum of Reggio Calabria-Italy and the integrated Urban Park for the Unesco Archeological site of Pompeii-Italy. In both these case there was not a sort of customer, as in the first case, but pre-professional experience was intended as participation in competitions, which has recently become an integral part of professional activity for architects and technicians, hence the need to integrate traditional academic pedagogic methods able to prepare young professionals to face challenges and work opportunities, which arise frequently in international and therefore selective contexts.