Sustainability and well being as the basic argument of any urban intervention is the pretext that encourages the return of dialogue between Architecture and Urbanism, as intrinsically related disciplines.

In a three-dimensional approach to the city, the aim is to explore the elements of Architecture as an integral part and catalyst of urban dynamics. Thus, this research presents the façade element as a transitional space (interior-exterior) that hosts collective uses. Consequently, it potentiates different qualities in the interior space and in the street, diversifying the multiple uses and appropriations.

Starting from the formality of the elements of Architecture to the ambiguity of the appropriations, the project will create a model of urban reading applied in two case studies: Braga (Portugal) and Ghent (Belgium) – medium sized European cities. The model will be based on the decomposition and graphic exploration of elements through drawing, a tool of Architecture and Urbanism.

 

PhD Candidate

Diana Gouveia Amaral

 

Promotors

KU Leuven, University of Minho. ( FCT Funded)


‘Officer and Laughing Girl’ (Johannes Vermeer, 1657)