Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

SU Florence School of Architecture hosts international student workshop in Medieval city in Tuscany

Monday, March 22, 2010, By News Staff
Share
School of ArchitectureSU Abroad

Imagine living in a city center where plots of empty land still represent buildings that were destroyed during the Second World War—a kind of living, spatial wound that won’t let you forget. What kind of urban structures would you propose to not only fill those spaces, but to also heal those wounds? This was the brief for 33 architecture students, from four universities in three countries, participating last week in the intensive, six-day Florence Architecture Workshop, hosted by the SU Florence School of Architecture.

The focus of the third edition of the Florence Architecture Workshop was the historical center of San Miniato, a Medieval city set on hills in the Tuscan countryside west of Florence—a setting combining both urban and natural landscapes. The workshop was organized by Elizabeth Kamell, (SUF School of Architecture), Fabrizio Arrigoni, Antonello Boschi, Andrea Bulleri, (Università di Pisa) and Andrea Ponsi (Kent State Florence Program). Participating students were from the SUF School of Architecture (16), the Università degli Studi di Firenze (5), the Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile dell’Università di Pisa (4), and the Technische Universiteit in Delft (8). This is the first phase of a two-part workshop—the second phase will take place in September. SUF Architecture is offering workshop participants studio space, a lecture hall and jury space.

Students worked together, in small, mixed-nationality groups, exchanging ideas on issues of common architectural and urban importance—in this case, the reclamation of abandoned, but historically significant, open space. Randall Korman, associate dean at SU School of Architecture, participated as a visiting critic. Notes Korman: “The San Miniato al Tedesco workshop is a wonderful event on several levels. Foremost is the opportunity for our students to interact with those from the universities of Florence, Pisa and Delft. Each group approaches the project with a particular set of architectural and cultural biases that require a collaborative approach to design. This effort is enhanced by the participation of faculty members from each of the institutions, who serve as roving critics. The afternoon table-top critiques are rich and varied. Also of great value is the fact that the projects are rooted in a set of ‘real-world’ issues confronting the town of San Miniato that includes among others, the need to be forward looking while also respecting the patrimony of the historic context. The challenge to the students has been to find that balance point between pure invention and responsible accommodation of functional needs. The result is an exceptional experience that will resonate with everyone for some time to come.”

The seminar began with a lecture on the town of San Miniato, followed by a site visit to the town with a welcome by the mayor. Students worked hard in the allotted time frame to develop ideas into projects, facing head-on the challenge of communicating with other students in English and Italian. “Excitement among the students could be felt from the first day of the workshop,” says Boschi, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by the amount of bilingual communication.

Students were excited about the opportunities the workshop presented. “The opportunity to design abroad within a cross-cultural setting has proved to be an invaluable experience, one that will have a profound impact on my education,” says SU student Edward Dudley.

“The different nationalities involved mean different opinions on designing, which make it more complicated—but more interesting,” says Marnix de Jong from the University of Delft. “The pace is dynamic, and decisions need to be made very fast. We are learning a lot more than we would on any one individual project.”

For all the cultural differences in play, Lorenzo Paoli from the University of Florence says communication flowed “through the common language of architecture.”

Students presented Powerpoints of their projects on Saturday, March 20, in the SUF Gallery, with a monetary prize awarded to the winning team.

  • Author

News Staff

  • Recent
  • Most Read
  • Related
  • Interfaith Dialogue Series Continues Feb. 28 with Discussion on Disability, Forgiveness, Animals and Faith
    Wednesday, February 20, 2019, By Kelly Homan Rodoski
  • ‘Space Force’ To Create Countless Bureaucratic Fist Fights
    Wednesday, February 20, 2019, By Daryl Lovell
  • Marlene Celi and Isabel Jimenez: Where the Application Process Begins
    Tuesday, February 19, 2019, By Brandon Dyer
  • Showing Support for Take Back the Night 2019
    Tuesday, February 19, 2019, By Teagan Cyan Peacock
  • Faculty and Staff Appreciation Week is Feb. 25-March 1
    Monday, February 18, 2019, By Kevin Morrow
  • Syracuse University Permanently Expels Theta Tau Chapter
    Saturday, April 21, 2018, By News Staff
  • Seven Syracuse Alumni Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 Lists
    Thursday, January 5, 2017, By John Boccacino
  • Syracuse University Announces $118 Million Investment to Create a New Stadium Experience
    Monday, May 14, 2018, By News Staff
  • SU in the News: Tuesday, July 3
    Tuesday, July 3, 2012, By News Staff
  • 100 Years after WWI: The Lasting Impacts of the Great War
    Monday, July 28, 2014, By Kathleen Haley
  • SU Abroad to Host Study Abroad Day Feb. 9
    Tuesday, February 7, 2017, By Jennifer Horvath
  • Innovation Orange: Assistant Professor Elizabeth Krietemeyer
    Wednesday, October 11, 2017, By Keith Kobland
  • Professor Randall Korman’s Closing Chapter: Six-Lecture Series on the Architectural Façade
    Friday, January 26, 2018, By Elaine Wackerow
  • Architecture Announces Spring 2015 Gluckman Visiting Critics
    Wednesday, February 18, 2015, By News Staff
  • Activist Architects Plan to Reform
    Friday, June 15, 2018, By Essence Britt

More In Arts & Culture

New CFAC Exhibition to Honor Black History, Women’s History Months

Spencer Stultz ’17, a master’s candidate in Pan African studies, will celebrate the opening of her first one-woman exhibition at the Community Folk Art Center (CFAC) on Friday, Feb. 22, from 5 to 7 p.m. Titled “A Time for Joy…

Syracuse Symposium to Recognize Careers of Professors Wadley, Gold Feb. 26

Syracuse Symposium continues its yearlong foray into “Stories” with a panel discussion on South Asian ethnography on Tuesday, Feb. 26. Recognizing the careers of Professors Susan S. Wadley and Ann Grodzins Gold, the event includes guest panelists Kirin Narayan (Australian…

Writer Larry Blumenfeld Using Watson Professorship to Explore ‘Jazz in Troubled Times’ March 25-April 5

Larry Blumenfeld, cultural journalist, music critic and longtime contributor to The Wall Street Journal, will serve as the 2019 Jeanette K. Watson Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Humanities at Syracuse University, March 25-April 5. Blumenfeld’s residency, titled “Jazz in Troubled…

Joseph Godlewski ’00 Wins National Architectural Education Award

School of Architecture Assistant Professor Joseph Godlewski ’00 has been awarded the 2018–2019 New Faculty Teaching Award by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA). One of only three recipients nationally, Godlewski is being recognized for his “demonstrated excellence…

National Book Award Winner Sigrid Nunez to Headline Carver Series Today

The Raymond Carver Reading Series continues today with a program by novelist Sigrid Nunez, the Spring Visiting Writer in Syracuse’s top-ranked M.F.A. Program in Creative Writing in the College of Arts and Sciences. The 2018 National Book Award winner will…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2019 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.