Design Studio VI

Main Topic: Urban Regeneration and Adaptive Re-use

Architecture – Designing ‘acupuncture’ interventions in the form of new buildings and adaptive re-use of existing buildings with student-developed programs to retrofit their spatial, functional, and material configuration, incorporating existing valuable elements into a hybrid project that introduces, reviving and conserving the living heritage while fulfilling future user needs and wants. It emphasizes integrating complex structural and enclosure building solutions, implementation of rehabilitation techniques and efficient retrofitting of structural and construction systems, natural and artificial performance of buildings (thermal, acoustic, and lighting), use of traditional and modern materials to serve a larger conceptual scheme adding value to an otherwise dilapidated surrounding.

Urban Dimension – Multifunctional action area design following a research-based development strategy and spatial planning that connects the site to the city to add value and respond to compelling challenges and needs. It encompasses integrating different building types and public spaces with feasible connections to the existing urban fabric of the city, considering the interdependence between land uses, the social and economic implications on the urban context (land value, means of mobility, safety, urban density, ecological balance, and energy efficiency). It focuses on ‘Urban Regeneration’ of mid-scale sites, urban renewal and infill interventions, urban upgrading and rehabilitation in central or peripheral areas (downtown, waterfront, historic core, informal areas etc….), balancing contemporary needs and future aspirations in one integral architecture and urban design proposal.