Architectural project appraisal: An active learning process [Valutazione del progetto architettonico: un processo di apprendimento attivo]

Reflecting on how economic evaluation is taught in architecture courses opens up a discussion between those who structure problems with design and those who structure problems with different approaches (specifically estimation approaches) and where this design and these methods can intersect and hybridise. The paper presents some reflections, and a methodological proposal, related to the way of teaching economic evaluation in architecture courses. The aim of this paper is to propose an integrated assessment operative framework applied according to the active learning strategy, aimed at supporting students in dealing with design decision-making processes in a structured way and providing them with a problem representation scheme. Specifically, with respect to the assessment of building transformation scenarios, the framework con-siders: i) the analysis of the real estate market, in order to estimate the most probable market value of the con-sidered spaces; ii) the analysis of demand through sur-veys and their reporting through descriptive statistics indicators, in order to investigate the context and the in-terests of future users, with a view to innovative and sat- isfactory solutions; iii) Storytelling (ST) and/or the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) as support for the construc-tion of design solutions; iv) finally, the Discounted Cashflows Analysis (DCFA), to verify the economic feasibility of the chosen scenario . The proposed methodological framework can be de-fined as a hybrid of active and traditional learning: the techniques are applied by the students in an active way, collaborating in working groups in a co-operative way; however, in order to make the application possible, it is unavoidable to prepare frontal lessons that provide the necessary theoretical concepts. According to this scheme the student has the opportunity to learn and develop, on the one hand, the estimation skills necessary to assess and estimate the feasibility of a project, and on the other hand, s/he has the possibility to ac-quire specific skills to structure the design process in order to relate spatial, economic, environmental and technical issues. This integrated framework is illustrated through the application to a case study concerning the transformation of a building located in the city of Turin, Italy.