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 Architetti
si diventa - Architects
in the making
Architekten
(aus)bildung - Devenir architecte
The
guarantee of Swiss university institutions
The
Academy of Architecture forms part of the Universita della Svizzera Italiana, USI. The university in
Canton Ticino, with its home campus in Lugano, is the youngest member of the Swiss university system,
consisting of nine Universities and two federal Polytechnics. The USI has close ties with other universities
in Switzerland, Italy and other countries, reflecting the rapid growth of its international authority,
distinguishing itself both by the development of research programs and by the important recognition
awarded to its professors. To the guarantees of quality and rigour that have always been inseparable
from the reputation of Swiss universities, the Academy of Architecture and the USI in general have added
a simple administrative structure and a system of communication in which the student is always at the
centre. Many administrative procedures can be carried out simply online.
An outstandingly
open geographic position and cultural openness
Mendrisio,
a small town midway between Lake Como and Lugano, some 60 kilometres from Milan and Malpensa airport,
occupies a privileged point of exchange between the Mediterranean world and Central Europe. The outstanding
tradition of cultural openness in this region is confirmed in the architectural sphere by the prestigious
traditions of its architects: from the Maestri Comacini of the Middle Ages to the protagonists of the
Renaissance and Baroque down to major names of twentieth-century Rationalism and the contemporary Ticinese
school of architecture. This international vocation in the region’s history today makes the Academy
a new laboratory, thanks to the presence of professors of international provenance as well as students
from dozens of different countries. This means that the interaction of teaching and socialization is
especially rich at the school. Since Mendrisio is on the axis connecting the Milan metropolitan region
with Northern Europe, transport by air, rail and road is excellent and this infrastructure is now being
strengthened.
Professors of international
fame in a familial environment
Over
thirty nationalities are represented in the student body and the teaching staff. They make the Academy
of Architecture and the other faculties of the Universita della Svizzera italiana an especially useful
centre of cultural exchange in a period like the present, which has to train new professional and intellectual
figures, to cope with the processes of globalization. The faculty members are outstanding for their authority and international reputation. For this reason Italian, which is widely used in most of the
courses, is replaced by English as well as by the other two languages of the Swiss Confederation, French
and German, in specific cases which favour their use in teaching. The school’s cultural receptiveness
thus also trains students in greater linguistic competence. This is made possible by the close teaching
relationship established with the faculty members. The dimensions of the Academy of Architecture and
the USI’s faculties are carefully controlled so as to prevent the kind of overcrowding that today penalizes
numerous schools. There are some 2700 students in Lugano and 700 in Mendrisio, which means that classes
can be kept to a limited number of students. The architectural design studios also contain a maximum
of about 20 students, whose work is supervised by a professor, in every case an eminent architect, and
at least two assistants. In the different fields of teaching it thus applies a “familial” model in which
the teachers’ role as tutors guarantees formative protocols of the highest standard.
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Future students
