The course aims to understand the dependency between cities and technical networks. Despite the fact that these networks support the city (physically and as extension of the real estate value on the surrounding territories) they are frequently kept invisible, black-boxed… and mostly outside the urbanism’s tool-box. In fact, the technological and conceptual evolution of those networks explains the organizational forms of the modern city more clearly than the mere analysis of its built form.

The course’s content is organized in three main thematic blocks:

1)      Concepts and important theorizations

–      Network?

–      Network Urbanism: 3 approximations

–      Place vs. Flows, Node vs. Place

2)      An urban history seen from the construction of technical networks

–      From compact to reticular city, and from a continuous to a diffuse, polarized urban region

–      The influence of networks: urban models and projects

3)      New (old) roads: normative, descriptive and conceptual insights coming from the architectural discipline after the II WW

The course is organised in two types of sessions: lectures and seminars. During the lectures, the main topics of the long interdependence between technical networks and urban development will be introduced. Every lecture will end up with a small seminar during which some key texts will be discussed in the classroom, helping to cast light on some of the difficult concepts addressed during the lectures. The follow up of the practical assignment will be based on specific appointments, and outside the teaching moments.

Lectures will be supported by a series of slide presentations, created specifically for this course. The slides will be made available to the students at the end of the course.

BANHAM, R. (2009)[1974] Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies (University of California Press)

BENEVOLO, L. (1978)[1975] Histoire de la ville (Parentheses; Paris)

DUPUY, G. ed. (1991) L’Urbanisme des réseaux. Théories et méthodes (Armand Colin; Paris)

FORTIER (1994) L’amour de villes (Mardaga)

GRAHAM, S., MARVIN, S. (2001) Splintering Urbanism (Routledge)

HERCE, M. (2002) La ingenieria en la evolucón de la urbanística (UPC Edicions; Barcelona)

JULIA, J. (2005) Metropolitan Networks (GG; Barcelona)

LATOUR, B., HERMANT, E. (1998) Paris Ville Invisible (Institut Synthélabo pour le progrès de la connaissance ; Paris)

MANGIN, D. (2004) La ville franchisée. Formes et structures de la ville contemporaine (Ed. De la Villette; Paris)

POPE, A. (1997) Ladders (Princeton Architectural Press)

RICHARDS, B. (1969) New Movement in Cities (Studio Vista; London)

ROUILLARD, D. (2004) Superarchitecture: Le futur de l’architecture (Ed. De la Villette)

SOLA-MORALES, M. de (2007) Ten Lessons on Barcelona (COAC-Actar)

VARNELYS, K. (2008) The Infrastructural City: Networked Ecologies in Los Angeles (ACTAR; Barcelona)

The student will be fully assessed on the basis of a practical assignment, to be submitted at the end of the semester (exact date to be confirmed by the option coordinator, mr. benoit moritz). The assignment can be completed in groups of maximum 3 students, and its content will be predominantly cartographic.

The main goal of the assignment is to understand the impact technical networks have on cities’ organization and development.

Most concretely, the student is asked to analyse,

-       The interrelation between transport networks;

-       The creation of hierarchies in those networks and their hubs;

-       The interdependencies between transport networks and the built form.

More details about the assignment’s topic and form will be provided at the start of the course.

Even though assessment happens on the basis of the practical assignment, participation during the lectures and seminars will be highly valued -to the point that it might nuance the student's final mark.

English/French

ncasabel@vub.ac.be

Flagey, 2nd floor

I do consider plagiarism as intolerable. Plagiarism, defined as to take and use another person’s thoughts, writings, inventions… as one’s own. It does not only relate to the literature you read in the course of preparing your assignment. Taking material (images, schemes, graphics, figures, sound or video fragments…) in a wholesale and unattributed way (without adequate attribution) from sources elaborated by others is also considered plagiarism.

This course is taught in ENGLISH!