URBAN ECOLOGY AND OUTDOOR DESIGN

The course contents are divided into lectures and practical exercises (often consequential to the theoretical contents about case studies chosen by the student).
The main topics of the lectures are:
Land_landscape_identity: a lexicon to design
With reference to the European Landscape Convention, prescriptive literary, historical definitions landscape. At the end of the lesson an interpretation of some photographic landscape images will be proposed.
Notes for a history of the landscape: knowledge, interpretation, design.
With reference to the idea of landscape across the times, until the objective turn by Von Humboldt and interpretive categories of the territory.
“Reading” the landscape : from thematic mapping to Landscape Units.
With reference to the natural features (altimetry, cliviometria, hydrography phytosociology ...), human features (demography, land use, mobility), cultural features (history of the area, witnesses emergencies / identity, sources ..) and perceptual features (visibility, semiotics ...). Examples of semiotic analysis of urban landscape and peri-urban areas. Practice: students will “read” the land where they are going to design the city of the final exercise.
Introduction to ecology of urban landscape.
Definition of ecology and urban ecology, eco-design of the settlements, the tasks of vegetation in urban areas.
Landscape architecture in urban context:
Categories and main functions of urban landscape, with reference to the main last century landscape architects (Roberto Burle Marx, WEST8, Pietro Porcinai, Lawrence Halprin, Gilles Clement, PROAP, Michel Corajoud, Kathryn Gustafson, Frederick Law Olmsted...).
_ The urban park (1 lesson)
Historical evolution of the urban park (Le Cascine, Prato della Valle, Parc Citroen, River Park Coimbra, Amsterdamse Bos ...).
Practice: Designing a neighborhood garden in the new city chosen by the students.
_ Margins, comunity gardens, sporting areas, urban fringes and urban forests ... (1 lesson)
Examples from Copenhagen, Olot, Paris, Naerum, Lyon, Santa Fiora, Italy ...
Practice: landscape planning of an urban edge in the new city chosen by the student.
Planning the urban comfort.
Definition of heat island, requirements for thermal comfort and control of solar radiation, flooring, roofing, water blades, green walls.