Architecture, City and Design

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Academic year 2022/2023
IUAV School of Doctorate Studies
Università IUAV di Venezia
EQF level: 8
38° cicle
Field of study: architecture and construction economics
Place of teaching
venezia (VE), italy
Duration of the course
Oct 2022 - Sep 2025
Teaching
Classroom-based
Languages in which the course is held
Italian, English
University formative credits
180
Deadline (Expired)
18 July 2022
Cost
Free course
Scholarships
19 

Course contents

The course’s distinctiveness lies in clustering together research bodies working on issues of multidisciplinary concern. The course is the dynamic home to research in architectural composition, in the history of architecture and the city, in planning, in design, in the arts and in urban design, whose combined presence fosters a very special educational environment inside a university that is internationally recognized for its interdisciplinary work in architecture, history, the city and the arts.
The PhD research track in Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Fashion Studies lays the foundations to build and develop shared theoretical, creative, and applied methodologies of research. The program offers transdisciplinary critical approaches and paradigms in order to explore certain research topics in a wider cultural context. The main objective of the PhD program is the training of scholars and professionals who specialise in both academic research and in the areas of cultural production, curating, artistic practices, and communication and management of the arts. The program includes scholarly teaching and research in visual arts, as well as in media and visual cultures, from theoretical perspectives based on historical, iconographic, or philological approaches, though not exclusively so. It encompasses both the aesthetics and politics of performance, with a focus on topics and areas situated at the crossroads among visual arts, contemporary theatre, and body studies. It involves research on fashion in relation to modernity, contemporaneity, and the construction of imaginaries and seen as both an industry and a multidisciplinary artform and cultural practice. The theoretical frame of reference of the PhD track in Visual Arts, Performing Arts and Fashion Studies relies on the exploration of the articulations, devices, and cultural meanings intrinsic to field-specific cultural and artistic objects of study and research.
As for the research field in Architectural Composition, it aims to provide the student with the theoretical and practical preparation relating to the theories and compositional procedures of architecture, intended as a final and synthetic moment of the relationships between figure, construction and context in the history of architecture and of the city.We intend to direct the activities of the candidates towards research with issues of common interest, in order to make the developments and the outcomes of the work more comparable, especially on the issue of relations problems and contradictions between tradition and invention, between continuity and experimentation in the modern and contemporary condition. For this purpose, we propose to take, as a time and cultural frame of reference, the overall theme of the "reconstruction". Reconstruction not only intended as a material work, but also as a verification, through history, of the ideas and meanings of modern and contemporary research in the architectural field.
As for the research field Innovation for Building and Cultural Heritage, the program aims to train young graduates in architecture and civil engineering both for highly qualified professional job and for academic field. The course will provide expertise in the field of structures and structural design of new and historical constructions. Particular attention will be given to the modeling at material level, macro elements and structure as a whole, to the experimental tests, the seismic improvement, also by using new structural materials as FRP. It also will face the issues of safety assessment and risk reduction of natural hazards, regarding the existing and the new constructions. This will be carried out by considering within a unitary approach: the definition of the hazards, the assessment of the behavior of existing buildings also in order to reduce the invasivity of intervention, the choosing the structural system of the new buildings led by the prevention of the effects of the hazards themselves. The course may also take advantage on the Labs of the IUAV University, to address research issues in a comprehensive manner with a theoretical-experimental approach. The above mentioned research methodologies concerning the aspects of safety and natural hazard risk reduction are also applied to studies on the building envelope, also embracing related aspects of durability and resiliency
As for the research field Technological, Environmental and Building physics Design, the research concerns the different and various aspects of Architectural Technology and Building Physics in relation to architectural design at different scales and to the transformation, recovery, and management of the natural and built environment.
Possible research and educational paths cover the fields of building materials and systems, techniques and technologies for the monitoring and analysis of the environment, efficient - or renewable - energy production, as well as sustainability understood as the preservation of ecological, social and cultural aspects. These areas of investigation are oriented towards the environmental design and sustainable design of buildings, the energy efficiency of buildings and urban contexts, the protection of the natural and built environment.
The research activity is linked to the cultural sphere of the European Green Deal and the New European Bauhaus, and it is related to topics such as circular economy in architecture, inclusiveness at architectural and urban scale, citizen science and the challenges for renewable energy. Consequently, the research activity considers the framework of the National Research Program and the thematic areas of the National Smart Specialisation Strategy.
By dealing with these topics, the doctoral student acquires skills on the use of tools for energy simulation, three-dimensional modelling tools oriented to the management of construction and maintenance processes, equipment for indoor and outdoor environmental measurements, and software for the development of machine learning algorithms. Furthermore, the doctoral student gains knowledge on how to apply Life Cycle Assessment methods, sustainability assessment strategies in architecture, and sustainable design techniques.
The acquisition of skills and knowledge takes place by participating in research activities, through which the doctoral student develops analytical skills aimed at critically identifying interdisciplinary correlations in the processes of transformation and maintenance of the natural and built environment. These skills and knowledge contribute to the definition of a high-level professional profile suitable for employment both in academic contexts and within public and private realities, including relevant professional fields or public administration, industrial and the advanced tertiary sectors - in which innovation and research processes take on strategic importance.
As for the research field Regional Planning and Public Policy, it focuses on the transversality of urban policies in the context of contemporary complex and heterogeneous urban societies, thus bringing to the fore the need for the adoption of a cross-cutting approach to urban policies analysis, at the same time calling attention to the much-needed integration of and between different forms of knowledge as well as the exploration of different planning fields.
The programme is designed to provide a comprehensive training for carrying out research studies and acquisition of expertise in main systems of spatial planning and urban policy-related areas (such as sustainable local development policies; climate changes and mitigation strategies; urban regeneration programmes; urban and rural development; infrastructural policies; environmental and social conflicts; place-based and participatory approaches to urban policy design and implementation; social innovation; ethnicity, multiculturalism and policy responses to diversity; etc.), but it is also flexible. Students can benefits from studying such topics, phenomena which they find particularly thought-provoking and also, by designing the research path which best meets their interests, under the supervision of well-known scholars and researchers.
As for the research field Design Sciences, it aims at:
• promoting the understanding of the theoretical, historical and methodological issues of design in all its aspects;
• building capacity of independent research and of collaborative work;
• providing candidates with competences that will enable them to interact with the production system and to collaborate with institutions and enterprises in the development of innovative and competitive projects.
During the three-year doctoral programme, candidates will be encouraged to identify and formulate research questions that are relevant to the field and discipline of design and that also intersect other fields of knowledge (such as psychology, computer science, architecture, arts, social sciences, economics, technology, etc.), with a particular focus on contemporary issues and on experimental research and team work.
In addition to developing critical reflection with regards to the figure and the role of the contemporary designer, candidates will be encouraged to explore diverse practices and methods – including action research – in order to investigate the relationship between technological innovation and the innovation of design processes and methods, in both fields of product and communication design, with an emphasis on their contexts of use, their social and cultural meanings, and on users.
As for the research field History of Architecture the aim is to prepare highly specialized architectural and urban historians able to address, with awareness and rigour, all types of problems inherent in the discipline in its widest sense.
The programme of activities is aimed, in particular, at familiarising the students with the approaches and methods of the discipline in its long, historical development and at the same time favouring a flexible attitude in the study and an up-to-date exchange with the international scientific community.
Attention will also be paid to: the technical aspects of research, such as the familiarity and use of archives and libraries, the reading of handwritten and printed sources and architectural drawings, the direct analysis of artifacts; to the acquisition of the most modern techniques of research based on primary sources; to the diversity of the approaches and importance of parallel disciplines such as, for example, art history, history of economics, history of ideas; to the familiarization with and attending of the principal Italian or foreign centres for the study of the history of architecture; to the direct experience of research through the preparation of the thesis; and, lastly, to the ways in which results can be presented in verbal or written form or with images.

As for the research field Urbanism, it is aimed at building a research and theoretical background of reflection for the analytical-design practices referred to Urban Planning. For this reason, the primary educational objectives are: the acquisition of the most advanced techniques of analysis and processes of territorial information (not only those related to information technology), the reflection on their theoretical framework, on their applicability and on their experimentation in a series of relevant and selected case studies. In general terms, the programme is not intended to provide the students with professional skills but with an intensive research activity in a field where design becomes an ineludible part of cognitive strategies.

As for the research field of the international track Villard de Honnecourt, it is aimed at the reading and interpretation of the XXI Century phenomena tied to the concept of architecture and urbanity. The programme’s choice is to overlook such phenomena in the frame of the contemporary theoretical and cultural context, paying attention to the articulated evolution of the role of the architect and to the ecologic and geopolitical background that heavily influences architecture theory and practice. Students’ research work will aim at scanning such intellectual landscape, deconstructing its origins, trends, intersections with other disciplines, keeping in mind that architecture, however solid may be the autonomous structure of its knowledge, is a growingly effective medium in building new relations.

In the framework of the Architecture, City and Design PhD program, an interdisciplinary track is proposed. It is aimed at delivering doctoral training in an innovative way with a "problem-oriented" approach. For the academic year 2021/2022 the theme established by the educational board of the Doctorate School is "Made in Italy in Architecture and Arts”
“Made in Italy” does not currently bear a specific and complete meaning. An incisive reconsideration of the role of the Italian intellectual and manual production is necessary in order to face modern global challenges. This is the aim of the PhD interdisciplinary track dealing mainly with the study of urban phenomena, fashion and representation.
Investigation on urban phenomena needs to be completely updated. The “Made in Italy” definition given by the studies on urban morphology, which is a peculiar characteristic of Italian architectural culture and tradition, has almost disappeared from investigation in this field. Updating and adapting the analysis of urban phenomena to the contemporary global scenarios is possible and will be certainly fruitful.
Investigation on the fashion field is fundamental in order to explore the “Made in Italy” concept and its need to be updated starting from the analysis of the Italian fashion system in comparison with the international background. The research in this field is going in two main intertwined directions: on one hand the analysis of the strategies to rebuild Italian fashion archives (both in enterprises and in the private context) in order to give them value as places where identity is designed. On the other hand, the quality of the Made in Italy projects will be studied above all in its connections with the Venetian fabric industry and its experimentation on textiles, knitwear, leather, tailoring and accessory design.
The section dealing with representation aims to deepen the cultural, technical-scientific and anthropological roots of architectural representation, in its aspects more closely related both to the drawing for the project and its history, and to tectonic knowledge assigned to stereotomic geometry.
In particular, as related to “Made in Italy”, the Cultural Heritage will be focussed in an inclusive way: investigation will be directed to deepening and critically interpreting the wide essayistic heritage on representation (dealing with both the perspective and the architecture in general) and the works (existing or imagined, both graphic and literary) that have historically defined a special relationship between the urban and landscape texture and imaginative (graphic and figurative) cultures.
In addition to participation in the activities of the Doctorate School, the research will be carried out within the framework of the IR.IDE research infrastructure.
Page of the course on the University's website

Teaching

Place of teaching
venezia (VE), italy
Duration of the course
Oct 2022 - Sep 2025
University formative credits
180
Attendance methods
Compulsory attendance
Teaching
Classroom-based
Languages in which the course is held
Italian, English

Admission requirements

Type of degree required
2nd Level Degree
Foreign language skills
Certificate, issued by a language school or a certification body, attesting the proficiency of one of the following European languages: Italian, English, French, German, Spanish. The minimum level requested is B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages approved by the Council of Europe. It is not mandatory for candidstes applying to the places reserved for foreign scholarship holders.

Admission

Deadline
18 July 2022
Available places
27
Admission
Admission selection
Comparative evaluation procedures are divided into two phases. The first consists in evaluating candidates’ qualifications, while the second envisages an interview to be taken by candidates who have obtained the minimum score established
Cost
Free course
Scholarships
19
The university does not require the payment of tuition fees. All doctoral students will have to pay only the regional tax. The amount for the academic year 2021/2022 will be established by the Region Veneto.

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Other editions of the same course
Academic year edition 2024/2025Academic year edition 2023/2024Academic year edition 2021/2022
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