The Institute of Urbanism is responsible for the education of students of the Faculty of Architecture in all areas of urban design and regional planning, both in the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes.
At the Institute, students learn about the composition principles to position and design (or remove) buildings to a building ensemble within a territorial system (Scale 10.000-200). In doing so, they also reflect on planning at the regional and urban level, which combines time and space into transformation. Students experiment with territorial transformations based on systems that lead design operations to minimize the environmental footprint and the consumption of non-renewable resources, and to promote new forms of more frugal land use. In addition, students reflect on growing inequality and social conflicts that are exacerbated by non-integrative urban design. To avoid these conflicts, students learn new integrative practices of spatial transformation that support appropriation.
The starting point of knowledge transfer at the institute is a body of thought that brings to the forefront ways of reshaping the territory in “transition plans“ that articulate the social with the ecological. The practical relevance is achieved by anchoring tasks and projects in real situations and problems: Elaboration of transition (master) plans in contexts of economic growth, stagnation or decline with a focus on the relation between buildings and interstitial spaces.
The Institute provides knowledge (also historical and theoretical) to understand the major issues of the territorial scale and its relationship with the urban and architectural scale.
It also provides knowledge in the field of regional design, experimenting in mastering the instruments of regional, national and supra-national planning. Knowledge of the interaction between (urban) space and the system, especially in mobility, is essential; a special focus is placed on equity in planning. The Institute provides expertise on the relationship between private and public (open) space at regional and local level, working on innovative ecological and social interstitial spaces.