Speaker
Description
Florence, known as the birthplace of the Renaissance, is a city visited by many tourists for its numerous architectural and artistic works. However, many historic buildings in the city were destroyed during the urban redevelopment of the late 19th century. Even though significant changes have occurred regarding the form of Piazza della Repubblica, it still remains as the heart of Florence, adjoining the two main roads, that runs through the city center, forming two major axes.
From Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza dei Ciompi where the Loggia del Pesce is located, could be reached along one of the two roads.Originally, Giorgio Vasari created the Loggia del Pesce in 1569 on Piazza della Repubblica to allow fishmongers to sell fish. However, it was dismantled during the city redevelopment process in the late 19th century while some parts were stored in museums before being rebuilt on Piazza dei Ciompi in 1955. Additionally, Palazzo Gerini, located in Piazza dei Ciompi, is somewhat truncated owing to not fully implemented construction as original plan.
This project aims to design a dormitory for students of the Florence University of Architecture, considering the relationship between Loggia del Pesce and Palazzo Gerini on Piazza dei Ciompi. Prior to the design process, it is necessary to take the urban and historical context of the city (Topos) as well as the types of the student dormitory into account.
My proposal of the ideal Topos and type are Palazzo and a courtyard building. In this design, the unfinished state of Palazzo Gerini is completed with a courtyard, following the Palazzo type in Florence. Moreover, a clear relationship between the Piazza, the dormitory and Loggia del Pesce is established by rearranging the diagonally placed Loggia del Pesce on the Piazza.
Since the courtyard type is introverted to encourage shared activities among the residents, it is highly suitable for student dormitories, especially for the students with similar or the same majors. For example, Le Familistère, a courtyard building, is a residence for factory workers in France. The courtyard provides a place for workers to gather for events, celebrations and various cultural activities. La Certosa San Lorenzo di Galluzzo, a monastery on the outskirts of Florence, is also built with multiple courtyards that function as a place for clergy to pray together and conduct religious studies.
Therefore, considering the demand involving collective research, studying, and activities of architecture students for the dormitory, an introverted courtyard could be considered as the ideal type. Thus, the current design was determined based on this preliminary analysis.
References
https://www.frenak-jullien.com/portfolio/familistere/
https://hiddenarchitecture.net/le-familistere-guise/
http://www.unav.es/ha/005-PALA/palazzo-strozzi.htm
https://www.florencecity.it/loggia-del-pesce-stupida-storia-spostamenti/
https://afirenze2016.wordpress.com/2017/10/29/piazza-della-repubblica-platz-der-republik/
https://www.nove.firenze.it/il-programma-espositivo-2020-della-fondazione-palazzo-strozzi.htm
| Keywords | Topos, Typology, Florence, Dormitory |
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