A Multidisciplinary Approach to Teaching: Historical-Architectural Research on Piazza Vittoria, Brescia

Abstract

This paper looks at a multidisciplinary teaching approach for exploring the transformations of Piazza Vittoria in Brescia (Italy) during the fascist era. The approach aims to develop students’ grasp of architectural research and to help them take a comprehensive view in an analysis of historical urban planning. The methodology involved studying literature and records. The teaching and learning strategies included face-to-face lectures and multimedia presentations as well as case studies, mapping and data lab groups, workshops and site visits. The students learned to read sources and to decipher documents through descriptive analysis, drawings and photographs so as to build a dataset including intangible memory. The end product involved two exhibitions designed by the students highlighting the transformation of Piazza Vittoria, enabling them to discover the various urban models from antiquity to the designs of Marcello Piacentini. The research project made it possible to rediscover a social aspect of architectural change that had been forgotten over time.