The research project ‘The Critical Monumentality of Álvaro Siza – Projects of urban renovation after the 1998 Lisbon World Exposition’ (SIZA/CPT/0031/2019) aims to identify, characterize, debate, and reflect about the works of Álvaro Siza, within the urban policies launched in Portugal in the early 2000s.

This research project has two general goals:

The first goal aims to discuss the importance of the Portugal Pavilion within the scope of Expo98, reflecting on its episodic neglect and the current rehabilitation and adaptation project, while the second goal aims at a comprehensive reading of the works of Álvaro Siza in the context of urban renovation processes developed in the course of the Polis programme and other similar initiatives, while debating their impact on the urban and architectural context.

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Acronym: ROLE

Underlining the contribution of architecture/urban design to the construction of a new “narrative” to guide the creation of these platforms/infrastructures of non-formal learning, in distinct socio-economic and cultural contexts, the research has as central objectives: (a) reflection, identification and systematization of the challenges and demands that knowledge spaces face in the current political, social, environmental, cultural, demographic contexts, among others; (b) recognition of the educational dimension of built environments and public spaces, encouraging debate that will provoke reflection and the involvement of professionals, public entities, communities and society in general.

The research aims to explore different typologies of built spaces and urban/territorial spaces, analyzing their potential for educational practices, knowledge transfer, their value as educational opportunities, and their role as context, agent, and educational content. The approach focuses on the educational needs and expectations (formal, non-formal and informal) of different target audiences (compulsory education, extracurricular education, adult and senior education, lifelong education), considering socio-economic implications and contexts of permanence, temporality or unpredictability. The central motivation is to contribute to the (re)design of innovative, effective and meaningful educational environments, anchored in the values of a sustainable attitude at the social, environmental, economic and cultural levels.

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IN_LEARNING focuses on active learning environments (ALE) in the framework of secondary and higher education. ALE corresponds to high performance learning settings, i.e. spaces designed to suit new approaches to learning and teaching beyond those typical of structured classes of standardized duration with breaks in between, in a way to facilitate student-centered and collaborative learning, to promote and foster informal contacts and continuous learning experiences to their students.
IN_LEARNING research was concentrated on the formulation of a theoretical framework between the relations of the design of learning facilities and the way people learn in formal and informal modes; the survey and assessment of ALE, concerning formal and informal modes of learning; and the development of a specific space-use analysis tool (SUA), based on the exploration of video technology for images in motion. Video data is crossover with “Space Syntax” models. Emerging spatial patterns of space-use and knowledge-sharing are identified by combining spatial description with the motion graphics and post processing analysis.

Funding: FCT (PTDC/CS-GEO/1010836/2008)
Duration: 2010-2013
http://in-learning.ist.utl.pt/