Architecture(s) of Care: Designing Relational Ecologies

The primary objective of the program is to expose students to a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to design, integrating both tangible and intangible elements characterizing urban environments and their communities. Each partner institution will contribute a delegation comprising one tutor and up to 5 students, engaging in activities throughout the program’s duration. Students will attend online events and a final workshop in Pavia, where they will
collaborate in international teams under the guidance of the tutor team.

The main workshop task involves developing socially-minded design propositions for three key public spaces in Pavia, each presenting distinct features in terms of urban fabric, environmental context, community identity, and social connections (one in the city center, one in Chiozzo, and one in Rione Scala). To gather insights about these sites, students will engage with local grassroots groups and conduct first-hand data collection through fieldwork activities. Ultimately, students will share their research outcomes and engage in discussions with the entire team and representatives of civic society.

The program is open to 20 international students enrolled at the four partner universities and to 5 UNIPV students, with selection based on their interest and the subject’s relevance to their academic journey’s development. The program proposes to establish a collaborative learning environment, engaging students and tutors in a collaborative, inclusive and horizontal research-rich learning experience. Moreover, it is designed to value the diverse personal and cultural backgrounds of our international attendees, through student-centred pedagogical praxis, with specific reference to the different geographical and cultural
contexts they belong to. A series of extra-curricular social activities will run alongside the 5-day in-presence workshop, with the aim to create and reinforce social ties and foster a sense of belonging. In fact, students and tutors play an active role in building a sense of community, within which individuals’ values and perspective can emerge and thrive.

Contributions from seminars and outcomes from the workshop will be compiled in an edited book, published by Pavia University Press, and made available as open-access resource on the official website of the Architecture and Urban Design Research Lab (aude.unipv.it).