INTRODUCTION
THE
LABORATORY APPROACH TO BUILT ENVIRONMENT EDUCATION.
The project
URBAN LAB+ is an initiation to set the interactive platform for various
educational institutes who are involved in higher education in urban studies.
The URBAN LAB+ is involved eight partners with TU BERLIN (Technische
Universitat, Berlin, Germany) as host and coordinator for the entire project.
The Larger
interest of URBAN LAB+ is to promote higher education, improve services of
international students & strengthening relation among the institutes across
the world. The partners of the URBAN LAB+ are as follows:
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Technische
Universitat, Berlin, Germany (TU)
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University
College, London, UK
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Ecole
Ploytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Switzerland.
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Universita
Della Calabria, Italy
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Pontificia
Universidad Catolica De Chile.
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University
of The Witwatersrand, South Arfrica
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Kamla
Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture & Env. Studies, Mumbai, India
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The
Chinese University of Honkong.
The contact persons are from TU Berlin entire
coordination of the project for next three years:
Dr. Ing. Daniela Konard
Johannes Novy
Dr. Ing. Paola Alfaro d’Alencon.
(Email Contact: urbanlabplus@architektur.tu-berlin.de)
THREE DAYS SYMPOSIUM HAD THREE COMPONENTS AS FOLLOWS:
21/03/2013
Urban Lab
210313: 9.40am
SESSION I: INTRODUCTION TO URBAN LAB+
SPEAKER: Dr.
Ing. Paola Alfaro d’Alencon.
URBAN INCLUSION
It began with
emphasize on process of urban dynamics of our cities that needs clear planning
strategies for future projection that may have impact of our daily life. It
needs to be articulated through dialogue that needs to be synchronized among
universities across the section for global learning. The speaker invited the
international partners and elaborated the subject of international urban issues
which requires collaborative research
Intellectual
and disciplinary resources & how URBAN LAB+ can facilitate the entire
process with in collaboration with EU.
The speaker
further enhanced on the larger theme of the URBAN LAB+ as being “URBAN INCLUSION”
where various sub themes can be discussed with respect to context specificity.
The reason being that city is our larger objective and issues are diverse,
complementing or contradicting which needs to address through the areas of
interest as per the partner institute strength.
The broader
areas are as follows:
Social Inclusion
Topological
Objective vs. Pedagogical Objective
Right Answer
vs Addressing Right Issues.
SESSION II PARTNER INSTITUTES: CHAIR PERSON: PROF. UWE-JENS WALTHER
The Second session
invited the partner institute to present & share the academic and research
areas as a larger pedagogic intent & how it can aid to the process of
inquiry on URBAN LAB+ theme on “URBAN INCLUSION”
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The
Chinese University of Hon Kong.: Emphasized the contested space versus
designated space within the city of Hon Kong
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Kamla
Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture & Env. Studies, Mumbai, India:
Presented the case of city of Mumbai as global city dealing with challenges
that are at various scales & imaginations.
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University
of The Witwatersrand, South Africa: Elaborated the social exclusion and
economic aspects, Housing and informality, Urban Politics and Governance,
Sustainability related issues within the city of Johannesburg.
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Pontificia
Universidad Catolica De Chile: Discussed the planning and urban management,
Competitiveness, uneven development, segregation and climate change and its
impact on our cities.
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Universita
Della Calabria, Italy: Elaborated the issues of Mega Region, Shrinking
Phenomenon, Urban Sprawl, Megalopolis & Urban Geographies & Regional
Exclusion.
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Ecole
Ploytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Switzerland. Emphasized on Periodicity and
dual polarity Phenomena through ecological concern of sea level rising and
desertificatin
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University
College, London, UK: Emphasized on Creative Urban Thinking, teaching, research
and practice. The strategies for pedagogic intent are: Cross & Inter
Disciplinarity, Public Collaboration & Participatory Approach,
Experimentation & internationalization. The areas of activity are, Housing,
Ecology, Change and Crisis, Data and Place.
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Technische
Universitat, Berlin, Germany (TU): Presented the ephemeral structure,
The
Case of need to establishing integrating project work with master student in
architecture, Urban Design, City & Regional Planning. The need for Case
Study based and action oriented urban teaching method. The teaching method
needs to test the innovative forms and method through application of media and
technology.
PROF.
UWE-JENS WALTHER in his concluding speech summarized the partner institute
concerns with remarks on strength that each institute can bring it to the URBAN LAB+ forum.
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He
acknowledged the KRVIA concern and effort on academic intent through the city as laboratory.
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The University
of The Witwatersrand stand on social phenomena where
city as lab for urban sociological studies and reality for information,
approach to reality
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Universidad
Catolica De Chile case of urban research enlarges the scope of city as regional question
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Universita
Della Calabria concerns with setting: complexity n
irreducibility is challenging our cities
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Ecole
Ploytechnique Federale De Lausanne on ecological concerns
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University
College on Urban Thinking
He
stressed on the work Lab as being scientific terminology which brings the
object and dissects for analysis while plus is unlike box approach to natural
science is interactive, investigates the new method of documentation of city
experience. It strives to break away from mummy of natural science boxed in
approach.
In
his concluding remark he elaborated the issues of boundary trespassing unquestioned
enthusiasm of either or approach, as urban question. The question of production
& dissemination of knowledge is larger concern to URBAN LAB+. It further metaphorises the experimentation n test approaches as really
cannot be simulated. The URBAN LAB+ is
thinking platform about the urban inclusion, cross disciplinary concessions
& phenomena and experimentation
which are beyond the scope of scientific gloss.
SESSION III: INTERNAL WORK SESSION:
URBAN LAB+:
PARTNERS ROLES, RESPONSIBLITIES, EXPECTATION, QUESTION
The session
elaborated the cluster configuration and need to identify and dismantle
variables to understand dynamic, method of communication, dissemination process,
website and publication as a tool to build knowledge structure, which in return
can facilitate to strengthening relation, improve services of international
students, Larger interest is to promote higher education.
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EXPAECTATIONS:
Enumerated Topics by Partners Inst.
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Comparative
Research
Commong
Issues among the Urban Labs
Experimental
Teaching Methods
Develop
Short Terms Initiatives
Exchange
Knowledge
Site
Specificity (Contextualism)
Contemporary
Urban Conceptions
Integrate Stake Holders
Compendum Urban
Lab Methodology
Building
Long Term Research Partnership
Research
Exchange Potential
Addressing
International Research Potenti
“Urban
Inclusion” Specific Issues
Reseach
& Practice Integration
Production
of Knowledge
Intsitutinalize
Framework for Research Partnership
Channels
for Communication
Beyond
Cluster Work
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SESSION IV: LECTURE BY PROF. UWE-JENS WALTHER
URBAN
INCLUSION: POTENTIAL N PITFALL
He discussed
the the plural of discourses on urbanism resulting into phenomena of tower of bable syndrome as very often the
issues regareding “INCLUSION” are not specific to context and urged for the
issue based research on inclusion rather than generic conceptual framework.
The Potential
of generic coneptul framework has to deal with the issue agreement on
perspectives of various contexts specific ideas that perhaps can result in
unity in variety. This attitude may result in addressing the “Urban Inclusion”
on longer time period. He further stressed on mapping the variey of disciplinn
perspectives which makes the inclusion phenomena more comprehensive and wil
able to break the boundaries.
Social
economics exclusion, inequality.
In the
concluding note he called for partener institute to enumerate issues that are
context specfic to their region. He shortlisted the issues that URBAN LAB+ may
have to deal with for next three years.
INCLUSION ISSUES
Housing
market
Race and Ethnicity
Urban Context
and Area Effect
Class Difference
or Physical or Symbolic Barrier
Geography.
Legal Right
Age/ Abilities
Caste/ Religion
& Food Habits
Accebility
22/03/2013
DAY 2
SESSION I: INTRODUCTION TO URBAN LAB+
The second
day first sesssion was spent on half a day boat tour highlighting the dynamics
of water edge reponses of City of Berlin over the period of last few decades.
The water edge delienated the various attitude in response which can be
categorises as follows;
-
Administrative
Corridor
-
Cultural
Corridor
-
Economic
Corridor
(Note: Visuals are
available in KRIVA Library)
SESSION II: LECTURE BY DR. REGINE SHONENERG F.U
ACADEMIC AND
PRACTICE DIALOGUE
She discussed
the idea of knowledge as a basic unit to bring two premises of “academic &
Practice” together. She primarily described knowledge as context based and
specific and such context based knowledge needs identification of “Knowledege
Communities”. She elaborated the point that community produces their own
knowledge and their own set of rules of dissemination. The issue that may
perhaps divides the nature of academic vs. practics lies within the rules and
cannons that operates dissemination. She called for commission of knowledge and
building larger community of knowledge.
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HISTORY AND
INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT
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Division of
knowledge is hint to possible need of cooperation
Practical
knowledge produced in political and administrative context
Interface
between aims of academic and practice
Dialogue
across border of knowledge communities
Information
on power structure
Method to
deal with power factor.
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COMMUNICATING
KNOWLEDGE
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Kind of
knowledge to exchange
Common interest
Common
question
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SHARING
KNOWLEDGE AND POWER
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Create New
Knowledge Communities
New
Practice of Knowledge Exchange
Respect
Context of Knowledge
Academic
world and power
Construct
frames for dialogue
Learn other
perspectives
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SESSION IV: LECTURE: JENIFER ROBINSON
COMPARATIVE
URBANISM
She began
with the problematrizing the existing comparative methods as being parochial
theory driven dwells on scientific structure of explanation and research
methods. It excludes the diverse contexts considerations.
The
methodlogical reseach need to qualify the phenomena of Cities Now that challenge
the global urbanism and work towards the “Refitting Comparativism”. She called
for thinking about cities through elsewhere and understand outcomes by
composing/ following analytical constellations/ proximities across diverse to
particual urbanism.
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Urban
Studies as Research Question.
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PARTICUAL
URBANISM RELEVANCE:
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Why Compare
Differnet Cities?
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Growing
Post Colonial Critique
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Globalizing
Processes
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International
Urban Policy Circuit
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Relevance
of 20 Century Urbanism
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Urban
Growth are expected outside the West Domain
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PROCESS
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City is
Stereotypical: Generic: Present State of Urbanism
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Archetypical:
Present State Through its Extremity
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Prototypical:
Future of Urbanism due to trend setting character
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Practice is
Theorizing
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Locating
Urban
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Theorizing
Urban society Global Totality
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Multiplicity
of Co Existing Temporalities and Spatialities
"The Urban Now"
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"EMBEDEDNESS
IN MULTIPLE ELSEWHERE"
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22/03/2013
DAY 2
SESSION I: Cluster Meeting General Discussion.
The last day
first session revolved around the individual cluster meeting and working out
the nature of cluster meeting and its relatin to the studio of host insitute
and guest insitutes.
The KRVIA
cluster is expected to happen between 20th November to 7th
December depending on the suitability of partner insitute semseter schedule.
The cluster meeting shall have case studies/ site visits/ workshop and
susequent carryforward into a studio assignment.
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KRVIA.
MUMBAI INDIA
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EPFL:
Ecole Ploytechnique Federale De Lausanne, Switzerland.
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UCAL:
Universita Della Calabria, Italy
SESSION II ISSUES RELATED TO URBAN INCLUSION IN
GENERAL WERE DISCUSSED AS FOLLOWS: CHAIR PERSON: PROF.
UWE-JENS WALTHER
FROM INCLUSION
TO GLOBAL.
LABORATORY
APPROACH
Need for
Wider Approach
Reflections
on cultural specificity. North-south
dialogue
Method of Communication
Dissectiono
of Disciplinary Boundaries
PRACTICE
CRITERIA
Knowledge Community
Mapping
Development + Group work
Dissemination
Inclusion-
Cluster Workshop- Answer for Higher Education-Symposium
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THREE CLUSTER
MEETINGS
(PROF. UWE-JENS
WALTHER)
CLUSTER I CLUSTER
II
CLUSTER III
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SESSION III
The group
site visits to various Housing schemes was carried out with post graduate
students of TU Berlin. The various issues of inclusio and exclusion were
enumerated through live example of housing gentrification & transformation
that Berlin has witnessed during post-war & post – unification period.
NOTE:
This report is prepared by KRVIA Faculty & HOD (UD): Prof: Manoj Parmar: email: hod.ud@ krvia.ac.in
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