Abstract:

The paper presents the innovative methodological approach developed within the technical training course Metadesign Architecture Working-studio Activities (MAWA_GO) provided by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering of Politecnico di Milano. The target audience consists of students from High School, with a focus on Construction Environment and Territory.

The purpose of the course is to introduce students to the meta-design process, applied as preliminary phase of a restoration and reuse design project. The course is offered as laboratory-type teaching. Starting from participants’ background, the proposed activities are based on operative situations which can be met in real work environment. In this way, participants acquire knowledge and implement skills by exploring new operational procedures.

Due to the spread of Covid-19, the workshop had to be developed in a non-conventional format, adapting contents and activities to the e-learning mode. Virtual working classes were organized in order to increase the level of interaction with students; moreover, lectures and tutorials were designed to actively engage them.

The selected case study concerned the abandoned barn “Podere Annunziata” (Tuscany, Italy).
The paper is divided into five sections corresponding to the main steps of the meta-design process.

The first section investigates the volumetric and spatial relations of the small rural building, moving from a two-dimensional representation to a physical model.
Knowing materials and their behaviours is essential to choose properly the right strategy to start designing.

Then the second section presents “skin” and structure of the barn, exploring construction materials and techniques related with it, in order to choose properly the right strategy to start design.

“Podere Annunziata” actually is physically and structurally damaged, before take action, it becomes necessary to understand deeply the current conditions of the building; then the third section is focused on theme of safety and structural failure analysis.

The fourth section summarizes the main theories and methods of restoration in order to have an overall view about the different way to approach the reuse project.

The last section explores a series of similar cases relating to the proposed theme to identify strategies and design solutions to be used in the barn case study for the meta-design project.

For each part, the paper highlights the didactic approach, the rethinking of teaching methodologies, the outcomes that emerged.

Keywords:

Covid-19, distance teaching, learning conference, reuse design.