Passages: Architecture for Flowing and Connecting Spaces. Call for Abstracts

What role do architects play in shaping the spaces of mobility? What is the architectural potential of spaces shaped by movement? What forms of public space emerge along the lines of mobility? How do spaces of flow influence the experience of the contemporary city? «Ce n’est pas une conférence sur la mobilité». As infrastructures of movement often prioritize technical efficiency, they risk neglecting the qualitative and experiential dimensions of space, an oversight that architectural thinking is distinctively positioned to address. Architecture offers a special perspective to address this gap, particularly in light of SDG 09-Industry, Innovation and Infrastructures and SDG 11-Sustainable Cities and Communities, and in reference to the principles of the EAAE Charter. By engaging with mobility through a transversal approach, the conference explores how architectural design can contribute to reimagining spaces to overcome functionalist engineering limitations, also considering the ecological, climate and social impacts of mobility spaces as something more than mere built objects. Through the examination of design methodologies and prototype case studies, the conference attempts to unveil the potential of architectural design and research tools to enrich unconventional discussions about mobility in urban and peri-urban contexts, its spatial configurations and experiential qualities. Although mobility is intended as a framework, the discourse will focus on the spaces above, below, in-between, and to the sides of the ordinary boundaries of architectures of flow, as well as on the spaces of new forms of movement. The conference «Passages. Architecture of Flowing and Connecting Spaces» seeks contributions which critically address the key questions of Intersection, Collateral and Evolution.