A participant observation of distance teaching in the field of urban design

Abstract

This paper explores the difficulties encountered by students of urban design in analysing and interpreting context due to a limited opportunity to personally experience them, a problem that has been exacerbated by the recent pandemic. How can they be supported, and what kind of skills and approaches should be reinforced when educating young architects in such a condition? The authors were instructors at Politecnico di Milano who supervised students in the field of urban planning during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic. The present article outlines the approaches adopted by students in achieving awareness about a place when developing their master theses following a semester in our studio.