Abstract:

The International Design Studios, recently included in our curriculum, are part of Wentworth ongoing efforts to foster international exchanges with a diversity of cultures and places. This semester, our Boston-based Master in Architecture program has developed seven studios focusing on specific aspects of the world’s urban development. During the fall, the Experiential Learning Studios offer advanced students the opportunity to research real cases of urban development and to intervene in ways that more effectively address the challenges facing local communities around the world. Selected professors traveled with their classes at the beginning of the semester and are currently working from Boston in different places including Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Seattle, Texas, Portugal and Spain.
The Girona Studio, in particular, addresses the conflict between the old infrastructure and the new transportation system (now under construction) in the medieval city. The first phase of the High Speed Train (TAV) coming from Barcelona to Paris will be ready in 2012 and Girona will be an important stop on the way. The existing train station will be demolished and the construction of an underground station will leave the existing viaduct and some land along the line open for proposals to develop new uses and reconnect the city’s traditional neighborhoods.
As part of the Academic Agreement between the Escola Politecnica Superior de la Universitat de Girona (UdG) and Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT), last September nine students and one faculty traveled from Boston to Catalonia for ten days, to understand the region and participate in a design workshop with students and faculty from the Polytechnic School of the UdG. The topic of the workshop was to investigate the open possibilities of infrastructure reuse and new land development, from the regional perspective to the urban scale. The experience at the UdG allowed the students and faculty to understand the site conditions, work with local students and faculty, meet with local authorities and communities where the project will be developed, and gather the information they needed for the rest of the semester.
The Girona Studio is the first activity of a set of plans of international cooperation between the UdG and WIT. The objective is to investigate special urban situations in both cities, and respond to architecture and landscape challenges at different scales and contexts that represent shared learning opportunities for students on both sides of the Atlantic.

Keywords:

Experiential learning, design workshop.