International Conference on Virtual Cities and Territories (CTV)
http://www-cpsv.upc.es/IndexCTV
The 1st International Conference of the Virtual City and Territory (CTV) (http://www-cpsv.upc.es/ctv) took place in Barcelona and was structured as a meeting place for the presentation of a number of developments of virtual models and tools, for the representation of the built environment, against the background of the activities related to the Forum of Cultures - Barcelona 2004. At this event, organized by the CPSV-UPC, some 100 researchers were drawn together and over three days debated projects and advances in three thematic areas: Virtual Cities in the World, Virtual Territory and 3D Cartography and Virtual Representation of Heritage.
At the close of this event, was taken the decision to continue this "meeting place" on an annual basis, alternately in America and Europe. The Barcelona event was followed in 2005 with a conference in Concepción (Chile) on the campus of the University of Bío-Bío. In 2006, the Foundation Tecnalia, organized the third conference in Bilbao (Spain). The next conference took place in October 2007 in Guadalajara and Port Vallarta (Mexico) and was organized by the University of Guadalajara, under the theme of “re-thinking the city” considering a different kind of its problems.
Whit this new approach, opening new topics the fifth edition of the congress returned to UPC in Barcelona in June of 2009, with the theme of "Strategies for transforming and managing the city; perspectives and new technologies" and in the same line the sixth edition took place in October 2010 in the University of Baja California in Mexicali (Mexico).
The next two editions was organized in Portuguese-speakers countries, the seventh edition was co-organized by the University of Coimbra and the University Nova of Lisbon (Portugal) on Lisbon on October 2011 and the eight edition was in September 2012 in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), organized by the Universidad Federal de Rio de Janeiro.
The ninth edition took place in Rome (Italy) in September 2013 organized by the Department of Architecture of the Roma Tre University based in the concepts city · memory · people and the last one, the tenth edition have been in September 2014 in Monterrey (Mexico) in the Faculty of Architecture of the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon with the theme “dispersion / concentration of urban territories in the light of the technologies of the XXI century.”
INSTITUTE OF URBAN DESIGN
Structure
Institute of Urban Design, Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of Technology, was separated in 1992 from the Institute of Urban and Spatial Planning founded in 1970. Established by Prof. Eng. Arch. Witold Cęckiewicz, it remained under his leadership until 1994. Between 1994-1999 and 2006-2013 the Institute was headed by Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Wacław Seruga. Later, from 1999 to 2001 Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Andrzej Wyżykowski and in the years 2001-2006 Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Jacek Gyurkovich were the consecutive directors of the Institute. Since September 2013, this function has been performed by Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Grażyna Schneider-Skalska, whose deputy is PhD. Arch. Kinga Racon-Leja.
The Institute of Urban Design consists of following units:
The subject of the research conducted in the units of the Institute of Urban Design shows their distinct profiles and is related to the interests of individual employees. Ongoing works were and are related to the transformation of the cities, sustainable development, shaping a healthy housing environment in the face of quantitative and qualitative needs, transformation of the communication in the city, and rural development. Urban and architectural issues are considered in conjunction with the legislation problems, urban sociology, ecology and aesthetics.
The staff of the Institute have deepen their knowledge and experience during the continuous cooperation with major foreign scientific centers, both in Europe and around the world. They include, among others, Barcelona, Delft, Copenhagen, Madrid, Milan, Barcelona, Dresden, and Knoxville in the United States.
Institute of Urban Design actively collaborates with units of state and local administration in the field of:
The employees of the Institute have developed widely understood expert cooperation in the field of urban design, planning, residential architecture and issues shaping the environment, as well as sustainable development.
An unquestionable achievement of the Institute include the organization of many, also periodic international and national conferences. In a series of conferences organized since 2005 by Chair of Urban Composition under the guidance of Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Jacek Gyurkovich following meetings were held:
Public space of contemporary City; Living in the City; the Heart of the City; Public space in the housing environment within the City; Future of the City – City of the Future; Future of the Cities – Cities of the Future;
Chair of Housing Environment organizes conferences devoted to residential architecture: Housing Architecture; Tomorrow 's House and Estate.
Division of Renewal and Development of Urban Complexes (now Department) organizes conferences devoted to specific, selected problems such as:
Safe space: urban and architectural conditions of urban space development for increase of the safety of residents, or the Economical City.
The employees have also participated in the implementation of international topics such as
SUPURPOL project (implemented in the Chair of Housing Environment) which considered sustainable housing projects and was conducted in collaboration with teams from Spain and England. Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Grażyna Schneider-Skalska was the supervisor of the Polish part of the project, while PhD. Arch. Patricia Haupt was its manager.
International programs based on cooperation with foreign universities are also important in the work of the Institute. These programs are a combination of research and teaching activities, in the form of international project workshops.
The most important include:
An important part of the Institute's activities include an annual, scored publication, issued by Chair of Housing Environment - Housing Environment, edited by Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Wacław Seruga, in cooperation with D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Magdalena Kowalczyk and Ph.D. Arch. Elżbieta Kusińska.
In terms of teaching, the staff of the Institute have conducted project classes, seminars and lectures for all years and three degrees of full-time and part-time studies. Until 2012, Assoc. Prof. D. Sc. Ph. D. Arch. Anna Franta was the head of doctoral studies at Faculty of Architecture, Cracow University of technology.
The effects of teaching are used in practice as an offer for cities and municipalities. The Institute conducts extensive cooperation with cities and municipalities such as Krakow, Auschwitz, Mogilany, Zakopane, Miechów, for instance in the project concerning rehabilitation of Krakow’s residential estates.
In the didactic work, teaching staff strive to leave the students the opportunity to choose the direction of their creativity, to liberate their invention and ensure full awareness in decision making and accepting responsibility for them. This approach results in a direct, partner contact with the students, obtained through, among other things, high degree of openness to freedom of expression and attitude to solved project tasks, ranging from projects with conventions similar to the tradition, to the avant-garde, spatial and formal solutions.
The process of teaching is supported by annual competitions organized within the framework of project activities. They include, inter alia, the annual contest for II year students for the best course design with the publication of the winning works in Chair’s editorship “Housing Environment". Another competition called "Interior-light-shadow" is organized by Ph.D. Arch. Patricia Haupt, with the cooperation of businesses and professionals from outside (Architecture of Light, Dynamico, AGC Poland). There is also a contest initiated by Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Grazyna Schneider-Skalska and led by D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Magadalena Jagiello-Kowalczyk with the UNIDEZ company, concerning landscaping element.
There is also a number of scientific circles actively operating within the Institute:
In March 2014 I International Student Scientific Conference was organized by Institute of Urban Design and Student Research Circle "Sustainable Design". The event was supervised by the curator of the conference - D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Justyna Kobylarczyk.
The Institute initiated international studio for American students from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, headed until 2008 by D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Anna Palej, and since 2009 by Ph.D. Arch. Krzysztof Bojanowski. The Institute is also involved in the activities of the studies partially led in English, conducted within the Erasmus program. On behalf of the Cracow University of Technology this project is coordinated by Assoc. Prof. D. Sc. Ph. D. Arch. Anna Franta, in collaboration with D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch Mateusz Guyrkovich, arch. And Ph.D. Arch. Kinga Racon-Leja, as well as Ph.D. Arch. Justyna Tarajko, who currently coordinates the program on Faculty of Architecture.
It should be noted that from 2013 there was a significant contribution of the teaching staff of the Institute in the program of Master Studies led in English. Assoc. Prof. D. Sc. Ph. D. Arch. Anna Franta is the assignee of this program.
Another initiative worth emphasizing is established in 2009 by Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch Wacław Seruga, Bene Merentibus Medal, which is a distinction of the Chair of Housing Environment, awarded by the jury under the leadership of prof. W. Seruga (the Chapter also include or included Prof. D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Grażyna Schneider- Skalska , Ph.D. Arch. Danuta Kupiec - Hyla, D.Sc. Ph.D. Arch. Krystyna Paprzyca).
The medal was designed and made by prof. art . sculptor Stefan Dousa . Medal is awarded for:
The medal is awarded to the winners on the occasion of important scientific events and by far 32 people were distinct.
Employees of the Institute are also designing and realizing architects, authors of many award-winning buildings and urban complexes. They share their experience with the students, and the integration of design practice and scientific theory is a characteristic feature the Institutes’s profile.
Centre of Land Policy and Valuations (CPSV)
The Centre of Land Policy and Valuations (http://www.upc.edu/cpsv) of the Technical University of Catalonia is a technical and scientific research unit created in 1986. In 1997 it gained the recognition as a specific research Centre of the UPC and comprises a multidisciplinary group of researchers. It carries out research and offers postgraduate training in the fields of spatial planning, land uses, environmental protection and management, sustainability and the quality of life, etc.
Over recent years the CPSV has carried out work in the application of new sensibilities, such as urban ecology and environmental management, and in the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT), geographical information systems (GIS) in territorial analysis, the virtual modelling of architecture and the city in 3D and remote sensing.
The overall objective of the CPSV is to encourage knowledge, innovation and university research, developing methodologies, technological applications, the optimization of spatial instruments, as well as the training of professionals in its principal areas of research; Spatial planning, Urban development, Urban and property valuations, Spatial analysis in the context of new information and communication technologies (GIS, remote sensing and Virtual Reality) and Urban ecology, environmental management and evaluation of the city and wider territories.
Laboratory for the Virtual Modelling of the City (LMVC)
The Laboratory for the Virtual Modelling of the City (LMVC) (http://www-cpsv.upc.es/lmvc) is an initiative of the CPSV, with the formal backing of the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB), and the joint participation of the Departments of Architectural Graphic Expression I (EGAI) and Architectural Constructions I (CAI).
Its main purpose is that of working with new technologies in spatial analysis, the management of the territory and the representation of urbanism and architecture, in two priority areas of research: the 3D shaped virtual territory, spatial planning, architecture and archaeology, and spatial analysis utilizing geographical information systems.
In the area of virtual representation, the Laboratory counts upon the periodic collaboration from the UPC's Centre of Virtual Reality (CRV). This has enabled the insertion of 3D models of different urban environments of the city of Barcelona in virtual immersion systems, such as the CAVE (Computer Animated Virtual Environment) or its stereoscopic projection in systems such as the workbenches. Likewise in recent years it has worked with techniques of laser scanning, in order to obtain cloud points for devising high resolution 3D models, as much of urban environments and existing buildings, as of the virtual reconstruction of heritage.
During the existence of the Laboratory important advances have been achieved in the area of virtual representation and virtual models of different cities have elaborated, in an effort to optimize the methodologies, above all in that referring to the post-process of the clouds points, for obtaining the models. In the context of the work being carried out in the LMVC, in 2004 the idea arose to host the 1st International Conference of the Virtual City and Territory (CTV).
designed by ctv2016 team & Piotr Celewicz