Abstract:

Recent trends in urban design studio teaching reflect the needs of contemporary urban design in planning solutions to respond to the urgent issues of climate change, to the requirements of creating a healthy, sustainable, livable, and resilient environment. Understanding urban environment as urban landscape, ecosystem services of green and blue infrastructure, application of nature-based solutions, solutions for water retention, heat island reductions, the responsible use of resources, aspects of circular economies, recycling, green energy, food production are issues that need to be addressed in the student urban design studio works. In this research, we examine how the focus on the landscape issues is implemented in the student works as outcomes of urban design studios at the Faculty of Architecture and Design of the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (Slovakia). The results show that the most used approach is the application of green infrastructure in the form of parks, street tree rows, green spaces forming green corridors in the urban fabric, the use of permeable surfaces, rain gardens as solutions for water retention, and green roofs for building structures. Students often propose community gardens, reflecting their concerns of bridging social aspects with themes of urban agriculture and reconnections with nature.

Keywords:

Urban design studio, urban landscapes, green infrastructure, green roofs, community gardens, landscape design.