Project summary

The project proposes a transnational cooperation between UAUIM, UNICT and NTNU that raises the question of high education in Europe and underlines the thematic approach of the complexity of current rural heritage conditions emergencies, actual chances and challenges where the traditional division of disciplines are outdated. The project offers an INTEGRATE approach that is usually neglected through individual disciplines and aims at strengthening the architectural CURRICULA and teaching to face new TEACHING and LEARNING and to be adapted to the new societal and professional situation.

This international cooperation it will learn how to deal with INTER-CULTURAL changes and how to deal with different teaching education tradition across cultures. We’ve chosen a mix approach: inter- and trans-disciplinary that contains one case study for ongoing depopulation communities for each rural areas; each partner has identified case studies of ongoing depopulation issues communities, but situated in cultural-touristic-historical potential areal with major significance in a context of territorial limit. All partners present case studies at the Europe physical extremities (Danube Delta (DD), Filicudi Island in North Sicily, Lofoten village in North Norway), each case study has major differences of needs, approach themes and solutions in progress to adopt, despite identified critical situations (depopulation) and cultural-vernacular-historic existent potential.

Multidisciplinary approach resides in study and understand the social-economic phenomena, built case studies, structure, ecological solving, and specific urban approach, but also for landscape integration or the study of mobility. These case studies realized in practice manner through direct implication of the students and professors by collecting information, presented needs and finding solutions, majorly contribute to the students’ competencies improvement in education-research-practice approach areal of architecture profession but also on social-civic-intercultural skills development.

According to this, innovation will be seen in the:

O1 – Methodological guidelines for teachers

O2 – New teaching module “Teaching Cross-methods to vitalize heritage villages through innovative technologies

O3 – Digital Platform: "Rural Forward" with innovative technologies cluster VVITA