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Building Site: Bologna, Children Hospice
University: Università di Bologna, Department of Architecture, Italy
Year: 2020 - 2021
THE EXPERIENCE:
The last workshop promoted by the Foundation was held on the site of the construction of the Pediatric Hospice of the MT Seragnoli Foundation in Bologna.
During 2020 two postgraduate trainees, selected by the Department of Architecture of the Università di Bologna, Francesca Chirico and Francesca Battini, were able to participate in the 6-month program, under the constant scientific supervision of Prof. Matteo Agnoletto.
Unfortunately, due to the health emergency and related regulations, we had to suspend the internship of the student who has not yet graduated.
The internship envisaged a phase of in-depth knowledge of the Pediatric Hospice project, exploring the concept, architectural choices, construction details and the phases of the building work.
The activity of the trainees was then mainly oriented towards:
In addition to the daily relationships with the contractor, Colombo Costruzioni s.p.a., the two trainees were also able to work with the architects Stefano Russo and Alessandro Zanguio (RPBW).
The agreement between the parties involved, the Hospice Foundation, Alma Mater Università di Bologna, Colombo Costruzioni s.p.a., Renzo Piano Building Workshop and the Renzo Piano Foundation, was renewed to continue the program in 2021.
Building Site: Paris Courthouse
University: École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris-Malaquais France
Year: 2017
The building site of the Paris Courthouse project had a more complex situation than the previous ones, both for the size of the site, its organization and the timing issues. In collaboration with the RPBW architects B. Plattner and S. Marrano, who are responsible of the project, and the ENSP Malaquais University, a different pathway has been developed for the students during the two semesters of the academic year.
The pedagogical project is in a sense reversed with the experience of Pathé and Amiens: instead of studying the project and following its evolution at the construction site, the students discovered the site at an advanced stage and went up through the study of the project, the motivations and decision-making mechanisms that have resulted in the end result. They made an analysis of the building under construction and proposed a critical return.
The students were followed by a university tutor and the architects, and worked in groups studying different elements, aspects and spaces of the building. Four site inspections were conducted by RPBW architects, who then participated as members of the final exam committee where the students presented their work.
Building Site: L'Aquila, The Auditorium del Parco
University: Università di Trento, corso di Laurea in ingegneria Edile –Architettura; Università dell’Aquila, corso di Laurea in Ingegneria Edile – Architettura
Year: 2012 - 2013
The first experience came in 2012 on the site of the Auditorium in L’Aquila.
The agreement with the building contractor contained a clause that would enable a group of students to be present on the construction site.
Thus, during the seven months of work, the yard has been an educational workshop for 20 students from the University of L'Aquila and for 2 students from the University of Trento: the first ones joined the contractor company during the works, under the guidance of an RPBW architects, Paolo Colonna, and according to the precise operational program to follow the translation of the project into a manufactured product; the second ones closely followed the production phases of some of the project components, with particular regard to the wood components produced in Trentino. There have been some meetings in the preparation and production facilities of all the elements that characterized the project.
For the students it was possible to follow all the steps of the yard, learning how to do a digging, how to make structures and plants, and how to combine with the architectural aspects of the building. Students have come into contact with security issues and with problems related to logistics and the management of a site. For their work, a dedicated space has been provided, called "infopoint", where they could meet both engineers and project managers, as well as citizens to provide information about the project itself.
Building Site: New York City, Columbia University
University: Columbia School of Architecture
Year: 2013
In September 2013 a workshop was begun on the Columbia University building site in Manhattan. Professor Scott Marble, of the Columbia School of Architecture, organized a program for 12 of his students, using RPBW’s Manhattanville Campus as a case study for his course on Workflow - Designing Industry, Fall 2013.
During the 4 months of the course the students were also supervised by RPBW architects. The students visited RPBW’s New York office for a presentation of the project, visited the construction site twice and met with the engineers in charge of the structure. The students’ principal interest was to understand the process that leads from design to production of the innovative components used in construction.
Building Site: Paris, Fondation Jérôme Seydoux-Pathé
University: École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Malaquais, France
Year: 2013 - 2014
The second workshop was organized in October 2012, choosing the building site of the Fondation Pathé in Avenue de Gobellins in Paris.
An agreement was signed for cooperation between the Renzo Piano Foundation and the’École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris- Malaquais (ENSAPM) and, to organize the teaching, a team was formed made up of teachers from the Schools of Architecture and a number of RPBW architects from the Paris office.
The School chose a group of 15 students who visited the site in turn once a week, observing the various phases of construction. This experience lasted two semesters and, at the end, was officially inserted in the university curriculum.
The students’s end-year reports became a official publication titled “De l’idée à la matière: suivi d’un chantier à Paris.”
Building Site: Amiens,Citadel University Campus
University: École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Malaquais, France
Year: 2014 - 2015
The workshop lasted two semester and involved 16 students. They turned every week, in groups of two or three at a time, to participate in the weekly construction site meetings.
It was possible to arrange a period of more specific activities, including a number of workshops. Some students worked directly on site, participating in quality control along with RPBW architects; other students did drawings, working at the Paris office; two other groups worked with teachers at the ENSAPM on the production of explanatory drawings of the constructional choices in the project, and had interviews with the different parties involved (client, consultants).
This approach enabled the students to become more deeply involved in work on the construction site. They produced a report for the year-end exam.
Building Site: Amiens,Citadel University Campus
University: École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Malaquais, France
Year: 2015 - 2016
During 2016, especially in the second semester, students who participated in the Amiens Citadelle Building site experience worked on drafting and transforming the study report into a publication.
The book, edited by the ENSA Paris-Malquais, takes the title "De l'idée à la matière" of the previous work on the Pathé workshop, to emphasize the continuity of the experience.
To prepare this works students and RPBW architects had various follow-up meetings to analyse the different issues to be developed.
Building Site: Paris-Saclay, École Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay
University: École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-Malaquais, France
Year: 2018 - 2019
