The Ministerial decree on reorganization of university system, that in these months is really going to be definitively approved, is besides, aimed at redrawing the role of the Departments in order to assign them, not more only the institutional task of “making research”, but the management of educatio-nal aspects too; a role that has been before performed by each Degree Course and Faculty. It has to do, if it would be successful, with such a revolution that, nevertheless, beyond its real enforcement in a consolidated future routine as well as the animated political debate that is coming along it, outlines a framework that has to be considered while we want thinking about the relationship among research and education.
A key couple – research and education – that already finds in the current events and mainly in the third level of education, absolutely, the most mean-ingful paradigmatic synthesis. Since the PhD courses have started their own training processes – 25 years have already gone by – often the most advanced research experiences at the different departments were the research activities of PhD students and Courses.
In many cases there was a correspondence – if not even an anticipation – between the social and technical demands coming from the scientific world and the territory with the close examination and the interest of Doctoral researches.
All that inside a nonstop educational process associated with such a rela-tive affirmation and a continue standing of their barycentric position inside the Departments’ structure also when, during the time, educational strategies had a meaningful rather dynamic development. The early objective to train researchers with abilities and education mainly spendable inside the university system, is now, in fact, quickly transforming itself in a new educational process for young researchers aimed at grow up some strategic competences answering the demands of the local territory, mainly spendable, therefore, outside the uni-versity system.
1Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria.
Massimo Lauria (edited by) Produzione dell’Architettura tra tecniche e progetto. Ricerca e innovazione per il territorio = Architectural Planning between build and design techniques. Glocal oriented research and innovation, ISBN 978-88-8453-988-5 (online) ISBN 978-88-8453-990-8 (print) © 2010 Firenze University Press
An ongoing transformation of which, for over five years, the net OsDotta of the PhD courses in Technology of Architecture has been the interpreter and the driving force, strongly aimed at education level of excel-lence and that today, also according to the actual transformations settled by the new governance of university, can hold to have undertaken, with wide advance too, the right way.
I want therefore to start from this reference framework to introduce some considerations about the activities that have first instructed and then carried out the cultural project of OsDotta ‘09.
I would not go back on the theme “Architectural making between tech-niques and design”. Contents and general aims have been presented and spec-ified by Attilio Nesi in the previous paragraph.
I want discuss vice versa the contributions that each universities offered during the preliminary phase of OsDotta ‘09, just according to the aim of thinking about the expected correspondence between the so called research of excellences and third level education, between educational objective turned towards academy system in order to enlarge the structure of the future profes-sors and the acquisition of competences spendable in the productive market.
The inside view that emerges, certainly partial and “cut” according to the themes proposed by the workshop, allows us to get the occasion to wonder us on what are characters and evolutive paradigms, partly mentioned, of the third level education and what are their relationship with the research sector.
We certainly cannot give some theoretical answers; nevertheless, we here suggest to read such relationship through the already recalled organizational novelty of this edition: the preliminary activities that took place in the months of April, May and June, at the different universities.
Particularly, while the third year’s PhD students had the task to give a contribution to the demands of filing and monitoring of some data of the net OsDotta working on their own theses, by now almost concluded; the first and second year’s PhD students had been involved in a studying and educational process related to the single educational program of each PhD course, they gave, according to the proposed theme, their own original contribution, often in tun-ing with thematic research carried out at their Departments, in general, and by the single doctoral courses having a specific curriculum in Technology of Architecture, inside the Departments or, particularly at the Schools.
Several were the investigated issues, as clearly appears from a reading of the various local proposals. I briefly remind that inside the themes of the work-shop, the activities developed at the different universities were freely choose by the professors colleges.
The results of such activities can be considered fairly distributed between three typologies of approach:
= verification of the relationship of the themes investigated by the doc-torate course in comparison with the outside framework, also in the light of regional context and productive subjects;
= acknowledge of actual socio– technical demand, coming from the ter-ritory;
= prevalence of the investigated theme in comparison with its operative aspects or its outside spin– off.
The two doctorates of Naples and that of Palermo have chosen to use the first approach producing works aimed at the verification of the relationship of the themes investigated by the doctorate in comparison with the outside frame-work. Professors and PhD students, through contributions related to each of the three tables, developed an analysis of the relationship between the lines of research, in the last years, at their own universities and the demands of tech-nological innovation settled by the world of enterprises and that of University, starting from the principle that the university research gains meaningfulness and competitiveness in comparing its own scientific sectors with foreseeable development sceneries, as those defined in the VII Outline Program or in the Focus Area of the European Technological Constructions Base.
Someone have chosen to use the second typology of approach, based on the understanding of a real social and technical need questioned at regional context:
= the doctorate of Florence has investigated the issue of the sanitary sector, a specific research theme carried out at the Department of Technologies of Architecture and Design and a meaningful example of procedural, planning and technological complexity too;
= the doctorate of Polytechnic in Milan, has planned its seminar activities according to a demand specifically framed by the Administration of the city of Milan, concerning the plan of a temporary settlement in a green urban place, foreseeing that it should satisfy a requirement of lodgings to be used, by a target of young users, during some exceptional events, as the Expo 2015, or during some recurrent occasions, as the fashion week;
= the doctorate of Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria has investigated, according to the more general theme of recovery of the modern architectures, the refurbishment of the Tower designed by PierLuigi Nervi, that since many years represents a crucial aspect inside the town debate on urban rehabilitation;
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= the doctorate of University “G. D’Annunzio” Chieti– Pescara, while having shared its own contributions between two tables, has worked on a problematic reference framework – working in the post earthquake – through some close examinations concerning sustainable employment and performances of materials between innovation and tradition. Many issues have been carried out concerning design and product innovation, from a perspective of sustainability, the planning of temporary buildings and the industrial ecology, as well as territorial sustainability assessment methods, giving some indicators for the control of urban growth’s propo-sals, together with some modalities finalized to promote a sustainable development starting from local resources;
= the doctorate of Polytechnic of Milan – Regional Pole of Mantua – that has its focus in the improvement of cultural heritage, has worked, in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and the Province of Mantua, on a complex process for the advancement of the Upper Mantuan territory, aimed at the creation of an eco– museum system.
In particular, from the eco– museum has been borrowed the shared approach relating to the individualization of local identities.
Finally, some universities have chosen, to mainly work with a more
“inner” and academic approach, that could be sad of theoretical research:
= the doctorate of Architecture Faculty of Ferrara, IUAV, the Architecture Faculty of Cesena, that have investigated the theme of the building envelope: technologies for the definition of boundaries;
= the doctorate of University of Camerino and Ascoli Piceno has inve-stigated an operational methodology for the early assessment of design, organizational and management processes aimed at the envi-ronmental compatibility of actions at different scales;
= the doctorate of the University in Rome “La Sapienza” – Architecture Faculty of Valle Giulia has worked on dwelling poli-cies and innovative building technologies;
= the doctorate of Polytechnic of Turin has developed a built environ-ment’s sustainability assessment system, defining reference bench-marks and individualizing a tool that can help direct strategic choi-ces for territorial transformations and regeneration;
= the doctorate of University in Rome “La Sapienza” – Architecture Faculty of L. Quaroni, making reference to the actual energetical national standards has critically compared the possible bio– climatic behaviour of five different morphological types of building.
Conclusions
Probably PhD courses and research still have a prevalent interest toward the research themes that we could directly define theoretical, that is not devel-oped and aimed at offer answers to specific and particular questions coming from the territory. It has to do, really, with a research that deals with some absolutely actual problems having nevertheless a general character. In other terms the reference is at the classical academic research. However, there is, con-trariwise, a meaningful interest in making link for and with the territory, for and with the framework of European research questions inside VII PQ (Outline Program), Research Platform, etc. This, latest mentioned, is a sign of an ongoing evolution, that, probably more than every others, leans to confirm what has been introduced at the beginning about the focus of relationship between research and education; and about the strategic role – in many cases an orienting role – of the Doctorate courses. This is confirmed, considering all themes already carried out, also by the different declinations that, at local level, each universities have proposed for interpreting the theme of the workshop.
Also returning a picture that draws a dynamic state of the art, in a nonstop transformation and updating, whose more meaningful merit and, at the same time, perhaps also the more felt limit, is represented by an excessive wealth and fragmentation in some sub– themes, of the debate. And it is really from these awareness that some need, affirmed by many people, arise, related to a reread-ing of the disciplinary boundaries to which appears more and more urgent give back recognisability and stability in academic sector and, above all, in compar-ison with the outside. Focus area, topics and general European strategies allow to glimpse, in fact, ample borders of usefulness and potential operativeness of the studies lead by the disciplinary sector of the Technology of Architecture.
Provided that, nevertheless, it could be possible “doing” critical mass, coagu-lating around the more felt and actual issues (of which, I think, this publica-tion is a means too) the efforts to be produced in the next years both in research sector and education level of excellence.
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MARIAAZZALIN, GIAMILAQUATTRONE1