Learning by doing as a pre-professional experience in educational urbanism and architecture: three case studies in the Southern Italy

The paper summarizes the results of three different experiences of learning by doing in Educational Urbanism ad Architecture Programs, aimed to propose a possible strategy, able to guarantee an 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, senior students). The specific object of interest has seen the working group addressing three main topics: urban renewal, technological improvement, preservation of historical heritage. The first experience regards a purpose of urban regeneration for Bella Neighborhood, a historic settlement, founded in the nineteenth century and pertaining to Lamezia Terme town, Calabria, Italy. In this case, the district and the issues were not chosen by the working group, but by the Lamezia Terme Municipality, like an ordinary professional engagement, and the final project proposals were presented during a workshop, aimed at obtaining feedback and suggestions from administrators, technicians, citizens. In this case the ambition of the project to be expression of needs, demands and expectations of administrators and citizens was not only a way for offeing students a realistic professional opportunity, but also a way for proposing 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 proposal of an 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 the 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.

Il documento propone i risultati di tre diverse esperienze di apprendimento attraverso la diretta pratica progettuale, all’interno dei programmi di formazione dell’urbanistica e dell’architettura, con l'obiettivo di sperimentare una opportuna alleanza tra sapere pedagogico e pratica pre-professionale, soprattutto in termini di metodo per puntare alla soluzione efficace ed efficiente dei problemi. Il gruppo di lavoro era composto da figure molto diverse, in termini di competenze, di interessi scientifici e di esperienza (docenti, giovani ricercatori, studenti senior). Il gruppo ha affrontato tre temi principali: riqualificazione urbana, miglioramento tecnologico, conservazione del patrimonio storico. In due dei tre casi non c'era un committente, ma l'esperienza pre-professionale si è espressa nella partecipazione a pubblici concorsi, parte integrante dell'attività professionale per architetti e, ha posto quindi la necessità di integrare i metodi formativi tradizionali accademici in grado di preparare giovani professionisti ad affrontare le sfide e le opportunità di lavoro, che si presentano spesso in contesti internazionali e, pertanto, altamente selettivi.