IN-PERSON MADRID FOCUS ON PEDAGOGY. SECTION A

Abstract

This paper reframes Calvino’s ‘Lightness’ as a Glasgow-centred pedagogy for ecological literacy in architecture and urban design. Using the ‘arcology’ trope as both object and method, the course mobilises the Clyde corridor, tenement ecologies, and post-industrial brownfields as living labs. Students prototype ‘light stacks’ that pair small, transparent simulations with embodied testing – daylight walks in narrow lanes, sound diaries under rail viaducts, thermal sketching in stone closes – ensuring predictions remain accountable to experience. Studio production minimises material weight while maximising conceptual lift: low-carbon model-making with reclaimed board from campus waste streams; rule-based drawings that reveal flows, not just forms; sketch-to-scan workflows to reduce printing. AI acts as an amplifier of judgement rather than a substitute. Prompts, datasets and outputs are fully documented; models are validated against site diaries. Assessment replaces a single high-stakes crit with iterative, place-based reviews involving community groups in Govan, Sighthill and the East End, plus reflective logbooks that track carbon and learning. Arcological principles – aggregation, metabolic coupling, vertical farming, co-located civic programmes – are taught through simple kits-of-parts aligned with circular material streams in the city. Early pilots have reduced studio waste and strengthened community ties while improving method clarity. Presented in Madrid but rooted in Glasgow, the paper argues for curricula that feel lighter because they are lighter: rigorous in method, spare in means, generous in social outcomes. It offers a practical framework for teaching urban ecology in a way that sustains the best of studio culture while retooling it for an AI-mediated future.