CAUMME II – 2014 - Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism in the Mediterranean & the Middle East

Call for Abstracts

CAUMME II – 2014 - Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism in the Mediterranean & the Middle East

International Symposium on

Architectural and Urban Research, Education, and Practice in the Era of ‘Post-Professionalism’

23-25 October 2014, Girne – Cyprus
Website: http://caumme.gau.edu.tr, Email: caumme@gau.edu.tr, Tel: +90 392 650 2000 –1370

CAUMME, Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism in the Mediterranean & the Middle East, will hold its second symposium in October 2014. CAUMME II, Architectural and Urban Research, Education, and Practice in an Era of ‘Post-Professionalism,’ is an international symposium organized by Girne American University – Cyprus, Yıldız Technical University – Turkey, and Qatar University – Qatar. CAUMME II comes after the success of CAUMME I – 2012 on “Global Impacts and Local Challenges” which was organized in Yıldız Technical University by Co-Chairs Prof. Dr. Murat Soygeniş of Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, and Prof. Dr. Ashraf M. Salama of Qatar University, Doha.

CAUMME II Scope

‘Post-professional’ architecture and urbanity have emerged in recent decades as a by-product of the globalized world with neo-liberal states, multi-national corporations, and worldwide social and environmental predicaments. The structure of the state is being transformed and consequently the associated paradigm of ‘professionalism’ that prevailed throughout the period of the modern (nation) state, much of the twentieth century, is no longer persuasive.
A significant feature of these changes in relation to contemporary architectural and urban research, education and practice is that as they are transitioning into the ‘post-professional’ era they are losing their public/ national/ social roles. As public-oriented correlations between education, research and practice have subsided, so the education, research and practice of architecture and urbanity have been restructured via business-led / market-led motivations.
Architectural and urban research discourse has progressed from the exclusivist vision of the physical / built environment where discrete objects were produced within the ordained limits of delineated professional fields, towards more inclusive inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches with both international and local visions. The professional intention, technical base, and mostly mono-type educational programmes in architecture and urbanity have evolved towards experimental, critical and diverse educational curricula. At the same time, architectural and urban practices have changed from individual engagement in designing spaces with high use value for public benefit to specialists’ collective production of images with high exchange value for the benefits of private / limited stakeholders. That is to say, parallel to these developments in the practice, ‘post-professional’
architecture and urban research and education established the ground for diverse critical movements.
This symposium aims to discuss these critical attitudes which can reshape architectural and urban practices and re-establish their relations with research and education, to foster understanding and appreciation of different manifestations in contemporary architectural and urban education, research and practice.
The CAUMME II symposium addresses a number of sub-themes identified as major issues challenging contemporary architecture and urbanism. It is open to any panel proposals on the related themes. The list of the panels will be updated on the CAUMME II website. Applicants can either submit their abstracts on the main themes of CAUMME II, as below, or for the approved panels to be advised.
The three main sub-themes of CAUMME II are:
1.      Architectural and Urban Practices in the ‘post-Professional’ era
2.      ‘Post-Professional’ Education in Architecture and Urban Studies
3.      Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Research in Architecture and Urban Studies

CAUMME II Co-Chair: Hossein Sadri (Ph.D), Asst. Prof. Dr., A. Dean
Faculty of Architecture, Design & Fine Arts, Girne American University

CALL FOR ABSTRACT SUBMISSIONS:

Abstracts should be easy to understand and not require reference to the body of the paper. The abstracts should give a clear indication of the objectives, scope, results and conclusion of study.  Important results should be presented in the abstract. The abstract should not exceed 300 words. Abstratcs must address one of the subthemes of the symposium:
1.      Architectural and Urban Practices in the ‘post-Professional’ era
2.      ‘Post-Professional’ Education in Architecture and Urban Studies
3.      Interdisciplinary and Trans-disciplinary Research in Architecture and Urban Studies
The deadline for abstract submissions is the 15th of January 2014.
Abstracts should be sent to caumme@gau.edu.tr

All accepted papers will be published in the CAUMME II Book of Proceedings following the requirements (see here http://caumme.gau.edu.tr/en/2203/full-paper-submissions

). The book of proceedings will be available during the conference. A maximum number of 20 papers will be be selected by the scientific committee and will be published in Archnet-IJAR http://www.archnetijaronline.org and Megaron http://www.megaronjournal.com/jvi.aspx Open Access Journals (max. 10 papers per each journal).

CAUMME II Chairs

·         Hossein Sadri, Girne American University
·         Murat Soygeniş, Yıldız Technical University
·         Ashraf M. Salama, Qatar University

Organization Committee

·         Anna Grichting, QU, Qatar
·         Çiğdem Polatoğlu, YTU, Turkey
·         Fodei Conteh, GAU, Cyprus
·         Hassina Nafa, GAU, Cyprus
·         Seda Tonuk, YTU, Turkey
·         Shahin Keynoush, GAU, Cyprus

Scientific Committee

·         Alessandro Camiz, Sapienza University of Rome, ITALY
·         Amar Bennadji, Robert Gordon University, UK
·         Amer Moustafa, American University of Sharjah, UAE
·         Amir Pašić, University of Sarajevo, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
·         Amira Elnokaly, University of Lincoln, UK
·         Antonino Di Raimo, Polis University, ALBANIA
·         Asu Tozan, Eastern Mediterranean University, CYPRUS
·         Attilio Petruccioli, Qatar University, QATAR
·         Bilge İmamoğlu, TED University, TURKEY
·         Cesare Airoldi,  University of Palermo, ITALY
·         Dimelli Despina, Technical University of Crete, GREECE
·         Donatella Fiorani, Sapienza University of Rome, ITALY
·         Eman Elnachar, Beirut Arab University, LEBANON
·         Eyal Weizman, Goldsmiths College London University, UK
·         Fatiha Bourbia, University of Mentouri in Constantine, ALGERIA
·         Fabrizio Ivan Apollonio, University of Bologna, ITALY
·         Flavia Schiavo, University of Palermo, ITALY
·         Gehan Selim, Queens University Belfast, UK
·         George Katodrytis, American University of Sharjeh, UAE
·         Giancarlo Cataldi, University of Florence, ITALY
·         Giuseppe Strappa, Sapienza University of Rome, ITALY
·         Guido Cimadomo, Malaga University, SPAIN
·         Gul Kaçmaz Erk, Queens University Belfast, UK
·         Güven Arif Sargın, Middle East Technical University, TURKEY
·         H. Senem Doyduk , Girne American University, CYRPUS
·         Hatem Galal Ibrahim, Qatar University, QATAR
·         Hussam Hussein Salama, Qatar University, QATAR
·         İrem Maro Kırış, Bahçeşehir U., TURKEY
·         Jean François Lejeune, University of Miami, USA
·         Karim Hadjri, University of Central Lancashire, UK
·         M. Gamal Abdelmonem, Queens University Belfast, UK
·         Magda Sibley, Manchester School of Architecture, UK
·         Marko Kiessel, Cyprus International University, CYPRUS
·         Matteo Ieva, Politecnico di Bari, ITALY
·         Mehrdad Hadighi, Pennsylvania State University, USA
·         Michael Lucas, California Polytechnic State University, USA
·         Mosè Ricci, University of Genova, ITALY
·         Murat Çetin, Kadir Has University, TURKEY
·         Naima Benkari, Sultan Qaboos University, OMAN
·         Nasser Golzari, University of Westminster, UK
·         Nazire Diker, Yıldız Technical University, TURKEY
·         Nicola Marzot, TU Delft, NETHERLANDS
·         Nur Çağlar, TOBB University of Economics and Technology, TURKEY
·         Peter Chomowicz, Virginia Commonwealth University, QATAR
·         Ramin Keivani, Oxford Brookes University, UK
·         Remah Y. Gharib, Qatar Foundation, QATAR
·         Rob Shields, University of Alberta, CANADA
·         Salih Ofluoglu, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, TURKEY
·         Sema Soygenis, Bahçeşehir University, TURKEY
·         Senem Zeybekoğlu Sadri, Girne American University, CYPRUS
·         Stefano Francesco Musso, University of Genoa, ITALY
·         Tasleem Shakur, Edge Hill University, UK
·         Thomas Noble Howe, Southwestern University, USA
·         Uwe Schröder, RWTH AACHEN , GERMANY
·         Yara Sharif, Oxford Brookes University, UK
·         Yonca Hürol, Eastern Mediterranean University, CYPRUS
·         Zeynep Onur, Çankaya University, TURKEY

Calendar

·         Call for Papers & Panel Proposals: 01 September 2013
·         Deadline for Panel proposals 01 November 2013
·         Notification of acceptance (panels) 15 November 2013
·         Extended abstract submission deadline 15 January 2014
·         Notification of acceptance (abstracts) 30 January 2014
·         Deadline for Poster Submissions: 15 March 2014
·         Notification of acceptance (Posters) 15 April 2014
·         Full paper submission deadline 01 May 2014
·         Reviews and Notifications 10 June 2014
·         Early registration deadline 30 June 2014
·         Revised Version Submission Deadline 30 July 2014
·         Late registration deadline 01 September 2014
·         Symposium date 23-25 October 2014

LIST OF PANELS:

Panel Title
Description
Panel Convenor(s)
Panel Speakers

1

Interconnectedness and the availability of   information has allowed the average citizen to be much better informed.    We may, sometimes be asked, often encouraged to, conduct our own   affairs, which previously required professionals.  Everything from   filing taxes without any knowledge of the super complex tax code;    making decisions about our health, with no knowledge of medicine; and   even designing and constructing buildings, with no professional, architectural   or design expertise.  The array of information that is available at our   fingertips on how to change the oil in our own cars, fix the faucet, all the   way to Kantian philosophy is staggering.  On the one hand, the   availability of information and our interconnectedness has allowed us to be   better informed about ourselves and our world.  On the other hand, it   has led towards a trend of
de-professionalizition.  Affairs that were   previously conducted by professionals of high caliber, with expertise in   their disciplines, are now being conducted by the average citizen, with   little expertise and professional standards.   In this session, we will   examine possible new spaces on the borders of this new de-professionalized   environment that have opened for creative practice.
Prof. Dr. Mehrdad Hadighi

2
CAUMME   FILM PANEL: Theme: Contemporary City/Contemporary   Architecture
Scope
Due to the unavoidable link between cinema and   the contemporary city, and its architecture, a short film panel is proposed   for the Contemporary Architecture and Urbanism in the Mediterranean and the   Middle East International Symposium, CAUMME II, which will be held in October   2014 in Girne. The symposium deals with Architectural and Urban Research,   Education, and Practice in the Era of ‘Post-Professionalism’ within this   context: “‘Post-professional’ architecture and urbanity have emerged in   recent decades as a by-product of the globalized world with neo-liberal   states, multi-national corporations, and worldwide social and environmental   predicaments. The structure of the state is being transformed and   consequently the associated paradigm of ‘professionalism’ that prevailed   throughout the period of the modern (nation) state, much of the twentieth
century, is no longer persuasive. A significant feature of these changes in   relation to contemporary architectural and urban research, education and   practice is that as they are transitioning into the ‘post-professional’ era   they are losing their public/ national/ social roles. As public-oriented   correlations between education, research and practice have subsided, so the   education, research and practice of architecture and urbanity have been   restructured via business-led/market-led motivations.” More information is   available on: http://caumme.gau.edu.tr.
Within this context, the CAUMME film panel aims   to bring together the ‘media’ of short film and the city. The theme for the   film panel is contemporary city/contemporary architecture. Diverse   viewpoints, which explore, protest or promote cities and urban architecture   in the 21st century, are expected to be part of this panel. Film is a means   of representation not only of the build environment but also ‘lived spaces’.   Accordingly, urban living and the relationship between people and   architecture can be considered as part of the proposals. Also, different   cities have different identities. It is also possible to say that a city can   reveal diverse identities as to the background of the ‘observer’, and his/her   relationship with the city. The panel hopes to open up a discussion on these   diverse identities, and our relationship with cities. Selected films will
be   screened in the CAUMME II International Symposium. Up to 7 films will be   chosen. Selection criteria are cinematic proficiency, appropriate reference   to the theme of the panel/symposium, and technical proficiency.
Terms and Conditions
1. Films can be in any genre, made in any format   or date, but films made after 2000 are preferable.
2. Films may have been screened in a theatre,   festival or conference before; they may have won awards.
3. Films not longer than 20 minutes can apply for   the symposium film panel.
4. English subtitles are compulsory if the   original language of the film is not English.
5. Music and other copyrights are the   responsibility of the director.
6. Film needs to be provided in one of these   formats: avi, mov, mp4.
7. Directors can apply with more than one film to   the symposium film panel.
8. The deadline for application is 1 August 2014.   It is the responsibility of the director to provide a copy of the film to the   symposium on time.
9. The email should include a dropbox link to   access the film and the one-page application form filled out in Word and PDF   formats. Please also add a photograph of the director and a film still (both   in jpeg format with 300dpi resolution).
10. Queries about the application process can be   forwarded to: g.kacmaz@qub.ac.uk.
11. Selected films (up to 7) will be screened in   the symposium.
12. CAUMME has the right not to screen   films that are technically corrupt or deficient.
Dr. Gul Kacmaz Erk

3
The “Other Modernity” for a Different Contemporary   Architectural Practice.
When   we always talk about architectural identity means that this is in danger of   extinction . If we organize every fortnight a conference on sustainability in   architecture means that sustainability and architecture in the contemporary   world have taken two different and opposite paths.
To   understand what is the influence of the global world on contemporary   architecture in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East we must  critically re-examine  the events of the last century , dominated   by modernism in architecture. The Modern Movement is represented in the books   of History of Architecture as a monolithic and consistent phenomenon. It was   actually magmatic and multicultural .
Making   a clear break with the history the Modern Movement released those cultural   forces connected to the financial world , which has always operated according   to principles of pure economic profitability .
If   we look at the building materials - from a purely didactic point of view  - we can divide the world of architecture   in two hemispheres : timber-elastic    and masonry-plastic. The first was linked to the landscape of forests   and customary use of a lightweight and slender material such as wood (no   matter if in middle age this gothic world has been converted to the use of   the stone) . It produces airy structures of thin pillars and large windows.   The second was tied to the landscape of the bald lands and use of heavy   materials such as earth (and its more advanced version of baked brick ) and   stone. Its structures are continuous, load-bearing walls closed up to form   less bright spaces and protected from the heat. Drawing a horizontal line   passing through Zaragoza, Florence, that drops to touch Istanbul and leaves   below the entire Middle East, The Mediterranean can
be divided into two   spheres too. The Southern world has not only produced extraordinary works of   organic architecture , bringing together the two fundamental tectonic actions   of enclosing and roofing in a unitarian and continuous action (and I quote   St. Peter’s in Rome , Selimyie Mosque in Edirne, Sultan Hasan Madrasa in   Cairo ), but at the same time it has cultivated the organic relationship   between architecture and urban fabric . The modernism of the south was also   based on a different vision of landscape architecture as a synthesis of   architecture and nature , and not as separate architecture from a nature to   be landscaped .
To   this philosophy , to these poetics and to these construction techniques   corresponded  a typical craftsmanship   of small architectural offices , where the designer alone could give life to   his passion for well-done handicraft buildings, taking care not only for   the  appearance of forms, but for the   substance of the construction too. The fifties have sanctioned the victory of   Nordic modernism for its superior economic and cultural weight .And it went   so , but it would have been otherwise .
The   season of the “ Other modernism” was very intense in Southern Italy, in   Provence and in their Mediterranean colonies such as Libya and Algeria. The   panel wants to document not only “another modernism ” that was   unable to generate  ” another   contemporaneity ” , but also wants to implicitly suggest a recovery of   the spirit of craft architecture , like the Italian High Fashion , not to be   confused with the spirit of the  Star   system in architecture , even in total opposition.
Prof. Dr. Attilio Petruccioli

Annalinda Giulia Neglia. A   Different Kind of Modernity. Gardens  and   Landscape of the Southern Mediterranean.
Calogero Montalbano.   The Invention of the Italian “ Lungomare “.
Attilio Petruccioli.  Ludovico Quaroni between Modernism and   Classicism.
Claudio Rubini. The Benghazi Cathedral.
Giulio Barazzetta. Extra Ordinary stones. The Fernand Pouillon’s   Architectural Work as Innovative Insight into the Structure of the Ordinary.
Domenico Catania.

4
Territorial Rifts and Conflict Borders as   Sites of Collaborative Pedagogy
Border Zones, -be it the Cyprus Green Line,   the Berlin Wall, the Belfast Peace Lines, the Korea DMZ or the US Mexican   Border –have become choice sites for speculative design studios and   prospective research. Out of bounds for civilians, and outside the developers   realm, these sites are nevertheless important and symbolic landscapes that offer   layers of complex and conflicted histories and memories, that need to be   dealt with in any reconstruction and reconciliation project.  In these terrains – outside the real estate   and political spheres but within insurgent ecologies and occupations– it is   possible to develop projects that do not necessarily respond to a social or   market need, and to identify possible and meaningful spaces of intervention.   In these territories, the architect, urbanist or landscape architect becomes   not only the designer, but also the agent
of the projectual process.

While the papers are focused on the   disciplines or architecture, landscape and urban design, the accent will also   be on interdiscplinarity and collaboration in the research and design   process.  For example, an   interdisciplinary design studio, Borderlands, worked on a series of graphic   explorations and verbal arguments
discussing the relationship between   landscape, urban form, interiority, architecture and the political, social   and cultural transactions that occur within the built environment of the   borderlands.  Analysis of the existing   built environment’s relationship to the landscape provides a critical view of   how the borderland was shaped culturally, socially, and politically.  This base knowledge of cultural   inhabitations and geographic adaptations promotes informed decisions   regarding appropriateness of proposals and interventions in the future growth   and development of the borderlands[1].   Collaboration – between universities, between communities on either side of   the dividing line – produce new ways of thinking and strengthen critical   reasoning and negotiation skills inherent in any group situation.

Outside academia and the studio, examples   of action-based research can also contribute to the creating new pedagogies   and practices in borderlands. At the Edge of the City is an action-based   research effort to document the status of Beirut’s park and public space and   to bring back the park to public memory and the public debate sphere. The   project started with an awareness of the imperative nature of communicating   research to a wide audience and of informing political change avenues with   contemporary empirical findings and conceptual frameworks. In its own way,   the book acts as a platform for a multitude of stakeholders in Beirut’s urban   space and for the viewpoints of professionals across disciplines contributing   to knowledge production about Beirut’s public space.[2]

This panel proposes to examine a series of   architectural, urban design and landsdcape projects elaborated in a studio or   educational research context that propose new visions for the contemporary   world’s territorial, cultural and social rifts. It will includes   contributions from architects, artists, educators, and students, who have   participated in these border projects. The geographical context will be   focused on the Middle East and the Mediterranean, but will also include other   border regions to introduce comparative pedagogies and practices.
Depending on the number of quality papers   received,  a special issue or edited   volume will be proposed for publication.
Dr. Anna Grichting
Dr. Michael Dear,  Professor of City and Regional Planning, UC   Berkely College of Environmental Design. Advanced Topics In Urban Studies:   U.S.-Mexican Borderlands

Dr. Karim Hadjiri, Professor in   Architecture at the School of Built and Natural Environment, University of   Central Lancashire.  Postgraduate   Studio on Nicosia Divided City.

Éric Verdeil. Geographer at the CNRS   (French National Center for Scientific Research) – University of Lyon, UMR   Environnement–Ville–Société.  Beirut.   The New Front Lines of Urban Resarch.

Carl   Steinitz . Alexander and Victoria Wiley Professor of   Landscape Architecture and Planning, Emeritus.  Graduate School of Design, Harvard   University. Alternative Futures for the Region of Beit She’an, Jenin and   Northern Jordan

Hallie Boyce and Laurie Olin,  University of Pennsylvania. Slavonice.  Landscape studio on former Iron Curtain   between the Czech Republic and Austria.

Yehre Suh, Studio Director, School of   Architecture, Cornell University.  Korea   DMZ. Parallel Utopias: Strategy of Normalcy and Exception

5
Balkans time of post- professionalism
As a large awareness of a   Post-Professional era is becoming more and more palpable, especially due to   the macro economical/geographical phenomena affecting architecture and urban   practices and methodologies, and if these phenomena’s are then embodied in   the urban transformation processes, sometimes quite hectic and not completely   clarified, especially in the Balkans, our main question relates to a deep   understanding according to the contemporary historical course, of these phenomena   and the consequent questions/issues that arise from it:
1 - on the theoretical   level (a demand that emerges for new categories of analysis);

2 – in education  (a need for   re-organizing the system and the instruments according to the peculiarities   embodied in the local context where Institutions work);

3 – in professionalism (re-organization and creation of new instruments in   order to give back to the professionals the competences they once had).
Thus the panel discussion   in general, intends to focus on the above-mentioned points. A particular attention could be   addressed to the realities emerging from neoliberal societies, which derived   from the regimes of socialist economies, and to the peculiarities arising   from their city/territory transformative processes. These fast transformative   processes have been quite recent, and this can be easily understood if we   have a look on the informal  development, which beyond the legal framework, can further investigated   especially regarding the influence in conditioning/transforming the city,   especially as physical phenomenon.
The opening up to the free-market economy by many realities of the   Balkans, and the resulting/consequent physical transformations which in fact   have affected the territory and the urban realities, were almost always   investigated and classified according to the informal framework, highlighting above all, the administrative   and legal dimensions and also in some cases the dramatic absence of an   authority, capable to regulate the specific arising forces and especially to   understand the individual stream of each of them. For these realities, a mark   of a Post – Professional era seems to be the limited presence of the   professionals in the taking place transformations, who can not only guarantee   the minimum levels of quality and consistency, but also to address/drive the   future transformations, especially in front of the consistency and the range   of such
transformations. There is one element that paradoxically seems to   give a meaning to these phenomena. It seems that they are rooted on the   strength of the masses, formed by single individuals and their newly acquired   power to transform the city within a framework of intents, which seems to   stand unconsciously (and contradictorily) in an anarchistic although vital   framework. Some urban realities, especially in the Balkans, tend to assume   new characteristics, where the informal   term, used to specify the procedural and legal characters, seems to   connote even the formal ones, absent on the quality of architectural and   urban physical form.
Said that, and considering the above points   as a clear evidence of a Balkan time of post- professionalism, a clear demand   for this panel session is the ability of the professionals themselves to   read, understand and deal properly with these phenomena, in order to control   and attributing a sense able to be traced back to the fundamental experience   of the city, which made ​​of   civilization as shared value preserving at the same time the individual   charge. While several and recent paradigms are characterized by the use of   the prefixes inter and trans, (i.e.: interdisciplinarity,   transdisciplinarity) both in education and in professional practice, by   proposing ways of interpreting and reading architectural and urban phenomena,   capable of evoking its network of causes that led to them, however, less   clear and perhaps more crucial in the ability to return responses,
is the   question about contemporary professional architects or planners, which   together with other expertise should not be restricted to reading   socio-economic of the phenomena, but also elaborate those keys that can fall   back in their own discipline, which has an eminently transformative nature   and aimed at improving the reality.
The purpose of this panel therefore, is to   ask the following questions, and to contribute to a substantial collection of   answers.
1) In the post - professionalism, the   disconnection between spontaneous urban phenomena, and in general between   transformation of the territory and the city and those who are called to give   plausible answers through their disciplinary knowledge, seems to be to some   extent dramatic. One may ask if this detachment is a consequence purely due   to this phase of advanced capitalism, and especially the sudden opening to   the market by new emerging economies (neoliberal), or whether on the   contrary, it is the sign of a inability on the part of architects, planners   and the other expertise to understand the phenomena taking place, perhaps   because they do not possess the necessary interpretative categories. The   panel session then, wants to investigate experiences, surveys, or proposals   that would help to provide answers to this first question.
2) A second question on which we would like   to direct the panel session is a consequence of the first. By assuming that   the traditional background, both educational and professional, owned by the   operators, has proved insufficient understanding of some explosive phenomena   that characterized the urban areas of the Balkans, the panel wants to call   all those contributions that have proved to be able in providing new readings   and a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomena, and that above all,   they were able to propose an analytic moment consistently followed by a   pro-active, able to interfere with reality, and to highlight the need for   professionals belonging to the tradition , although renovated.
Prof. Dr. Antonino   Di Raimo

6
Città d’acqua e di luce, tra storia e   trasformazione
Vogliamo affrontare in questo intervento il   tema della città mediterranea, della città di pietra, della città  pianificata, della sua trasformazione e del rapporto tra storia e   contemporaneità.
Per questo esaminiamo il caso di Lisbona, a   partire da suo particolare rapporto con il lungofiume, identificando un   tratto consistente che va da Belém al Parque das Naçôes, sede dell’Expo’98.
L’esame si concentra solo su Lisbona, non   potendo, purtroppo, comparare la capitale pombalina con nostra città,   Palermo, in cui non esistono esempi significativi di recupero e progetto, né   del rapporto tra acqua e città, rapporto negato per la assenza di politiche   mirate, per l’assenza di progettualità, e per la presenza di un piano che non   affronta in termini di sistema e di trasformazione governata, la   pianificazione generale, e che non considera la relazione tra gli spazi   costruiti e gli spazi aperti, non promuove l’architettura contemporanea o la   progettazione di spazi pubblici e giardini.
Tratteremo in particolare del lungo fiume,   il fronte del Tejo, inteso non solo come sistema lineare ma come spina   generativa dalla quale si innerva una riqualificazione estesa e complessiva   che, anche a partire dai progetti puntuali, riguarda l’intera città. E   mostreremo, dunque, ciò che sia relativo alle iniziative di Piano, alle   azioni della pubblica amministrazione, agli strumenti urbanistici attivati e   cogenti, sino ad arrivare a esplorare come alcuni spazi (ad esempio la Praça   do Comércio) e alcune architetture, che è possibile definire come   “architetture urbane”, e che si pongono chiaramente il problema del confronto   con la città intera, proponendo soluzioni    a questioni che trascendono la dimensione dell’edificio. E mostrando   come tra urbanistica e architettura ci sia una reale e profonda connessione   radicale. Si tratta di spazi aperti
(piazze; giardini), di spazi lineari (le   spiagge, le piste ciclabili, quali spazi pubblici ed elementi di   congiunzione) e di architetture di pietra, che utilizzano sistemi costruttivi   contemporanei, ma connessi con la storia locale, sia per ciò che attiene i   materiali, sia per ciò che riguarda la “forma” e le “tecniche”, che dunque   possano essere considerati come frutto conclusivo di una lunga tradizione che   accoglie l’innovazione, senza che essa stravolga l’essenza urbana.
Tali luoghi e architetture sono   “mediterranei”, per le ragioni appena dette e in quanto si confrontano con la   storia della città mediterranea.
A partire da questo corpus di  elementi e “pratiche” ci porremo quindi il   problema di una chiara (nuova?) lettura della mediterraneità, tema molto   esplorato, ma frutto anche di grandi equivoci e di letture convenzionali e   retoriche.
In relazione a quanto detto, affronteremo   il tema delle regole sottese alla   pianificazione della città e alla progettazione di queste architetture e di   tali spazi aperti: vedremo come esse derivino dal rapporto con la città, con   la modalità tramite cui essa è crescita, con la morfologia del territorio,   con le risorse (il clima, l’acqua, la vegetazione, la luce) e con l’uso fatto   dalla Comunità locale delle stesse risorse. Per le architetture, le regole   sono connesse all’applicazione dello status   della disciplina, coincidono con la nozione di tipologia definita da   Giuseppe Samonà “quella forma di conoscenza in parte nozionistica, in parte   creativa, che esprime i modi di dare allo spazio fisico la sua struttura   urbana”. Specificamente affronteremo anche il rapporto che alcuni di tali   luoghi intrattengono con il tessuto storico, ambientale e
monumentale, in   prossimità dei quali sono realizzati.
Questo tema delle regole, e del rapporto   con la preesistenza e con il monumento, anche contemporaneo, è stato al   centro dell’interesse del Dottorato in Progettazione Architettonica di   Palermo, che ha avuto come tema il progetto di restauro del moderno, di cui   espliciteremo i caratteri, integrandolo con riflessioni sulla progettazione   contemporanea, attraverso alcuni risultati di carattere metodologico e   progettuale.
Esamineremo così in particolare il sistema   urbano soprattutto relativo e prossimo all’area fluviale, e tre nodi urbani,   due alle estremità del luogo affrontato, e uno mediano: il primo è il Centro   culturale di Belém di Gregotti, nel suo costituirsi come monumento   contemporaneo e programmaticamente come parte di città, coi suoi chiari   riferimenti alla costruzione in pietra e alla mediterraneità, nel suo   confrontarsi con i fondamentali monumenti storici adiacenti della Torre e del   Monastero dos Jeronimos. Sarà affrontato anche il tema di alcune “parole   d’ordine” dell’architettura di Gregotti, in relazione a un suo modo di porsi rispetto   alla questione della teoria dell’architettura e alla teoria della città.
Il secondo caso è costituito dalle   architetture del Chiado di Siza, in relazione di profonda continuità con il   quartiere distrutto dall’incendio, e in rapporto con la città pombalina   (frutto di un’altra catastrofe, quella del 1755), fondamentale esempio di   città pianificata, che ha il suo sbocco sul fiume nella Plaça do Comércio:   tutti esempi particolarmente evidenti di progetti di respiro urbano.
L’ultimo nodo è il luogo ampio dell’Expo   ’98, il Parque de Naçôes, ulteriore esempio di città pianificata per parti,   con la volontà di farne un luogo non provvisorio, ma permanente al servizio   della città. In particolare tratteremo del Padiglione del Portogallo di Siza,   evidente caso di architettura urbana, che si costituisce come fulcro   dell’intero spazio dell’Expo; del contiguo Padiglione della Conoscenza dei   Mari di Carrilho da Graça, per la sua “mediterraneità” espressa dalle forme e   dal suo particolare uso della tipologia della corte;  del sistema dei giardini e dei parchi che   funge da testata conclusiva non solo dell’Expo, ma anche di una area vasta   della città in strettissima interconnessione con l’acqua. Affrontando il tema   delle architetture e degli spazi aperti    faremo riferimento a un esperimento didattico condotto a Palermo
sull’Expo, anche per affrontare ulteriormente il tema delle regole rispetto a   un sistema compositivo semplice, quello del trilite, posto come elemento base   per la progettazione di un sistema di piccoli servizi (bar, ristoranti …..)   all’interno dell’ Esposizione.
Prof. Dr. Cesare Ajroldi, Dr. Flavia   Schiavo

[1] Kim Steele, Rebecca O’Neal Dagg, Borderlands: A Place Apart - Human Settlement in a Divided Landscape. In Proceedings of the 19thNational Conference of the Beginning Design Student, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma. April 3-5, 2003.

[2] Éric Verdeil. Beirut: the new front lines of urban research. http://www.metropolitiques.eu/_Verdeil-Eric_.html?lang=en

CAUMME II - Contemporary Architecture & Urbanism in the Mediterranean & the Middle East
International Symposium on
Architectural and Urban Research, Education, and Practice in the Era of ‘Post-Professionalism’
23-25 October 2014 - Girne American University, North Cyprus
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Co-Chairs:
Hossein Sadri, Girne American University
Murat Soygeniş, Yıldız Technical University
Ashraf M. Salama, Qatar University
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Website: http://caumme.gau.edu.tr
Email: caumme@gau.edu.tr
Tel: +90 392 650 2000 -1370

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