essential information
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- Academic Year: 2025/2026, second semester
- Students: Graduate students in “Architecture”, track “AAE – Architecture and Environment“
- SSD: BIOS-05/A Ecologia (ex BIO/07 – Ecologia) and CEAR-12/B – Urbanistica (ex ICAR/21 – Urbanistica)
- Credits: 8 (PoliMI code 063422), in two modules of 5 credits each (this is module 063423)
- Classes by Renato Casagrandi and Maria Chiara Pastore
timetable
The activities of the course are scheduled on
- Tuesdays, from 08.15/30 to 11.15/30 in room 3.2.3 – what about the “academic quarter“? why three hours?
- Wednesdays, from 9.15/30 to 13.15/30 in room B
BEAWARE: This module is active on Tuesdays only, I might occasionally participate to one or two visits on Wednesdays…
calendar
office hours
Typically on Thursday afternoon (14.00-16.00). All meetings require an appointment: in case of need, please write an e-mail to the instructor, no later than one week before the requested meeting.
course topics
This course aims to provide students with the opportunity to integrate fundamental theoretical knowledge in ecological and environmental planning fields with direct experiential learning. This is achieved through visits to diverse urban green spaces, each characterized by unique histories and functions. An ambitious objective is to foster a critical understanding of ecological dynamics, observing them in operation within the urban context, and recognizing their implications for sustainable architectural and urban planning.
The course adopts an interdisciplinary approach, alternating traditional in-class instruction with fieldwork (site visits) and independent student research. It comprises:
- Lectures and Seminars: Sessions dedicated to presenting core theoretical concepts in ecology and environmental planning studies.
- Student Presentations and Discussion: Students will present the findings of their individual or group research on specific topics, stimulated by faculty guidance, lectures, and suggested readings.
- Site Visits: Guided tours will be organized to various green spaces within the Milan Metropolitan Area to observe and analyze the design solutions encountered.
Regarding ecological aspects, after an introduction to the concepts of ecosystem and community, the course will address several fundamental ecological themes, including:
- The flows of energy and matter in ecosystems, with an in-depth focus on climate change and the circulation of toxicants in the environment.
- Biodiversity and ecosystem services.
- Human demographic dynamics and their implications for the environment, and sustainability.
The development of conceptual arguments on these and other topics of urban planning and architectural interest will, as noted, provide the impetus for independent student research.
In addition to in-class sessions, several site visits within the Milan Metropolitan Area will be conducted during scheduled course hours, to better experience the stories and best practices of our natural systems in relation to their objectives and to the possible challenges arisen from the context.
materials
Each of the two instructors will provide material related to the module they coordinates either on this site (Prof. Casagrandi) or on a shared webspace (Prof. Maria Chiara Pastore). Many interesting Ecology books of reference can be consulted for this module, such as for example
- R.E. Ricklefs, The Economy of Nature, 6th edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, 2008
- A. Sher and M. C. Molles, Ecology: Concepts and Applications, 9th edition. McGraw-Hill, New York , 2022
No need to buy the books, the slides, your notes and possible complimentary readings would probably serve the need of your preparation.
evaluation
– Attendance and active participation in interactive classroom meetings and scheduled visits.
– A final examination, which may typically be conducted in the form of an oral discussion with faculty or through short written responses.
As for participation and grading of this module (Eco-ETSP), there is a way to increase the grade by actively participating during classes. In fact, when a student makes a particularly brilliant/useful comment, asks a class-changing question (you will see), provides a counterintuitive, yet correct solution of an exercise or opens a deep-thinking/challenging doubt… in sum, when a student contributes in a particularly relevant way to the class to significantly improve the content/message of a lecture/meeting, the instructor reserves the unilateral right of awarding the student with a bonus point, i.e. a point that will be added to the final grade of the exam (after rounding). A maximum of two bonus points (strawberries) can be awarded per person within the semester. To obtain such an award point, the student is required to fill out this form on the day of the lecture.
exams agenda
The exams are not yet scheduled… more will follow
- First call (appello): …, January YY 2025 at ZZ.ZZ AM
- Second appello: …
- Third appello: …
English