Reflections on the architectural threshold according to an RbD approach

Abstract

This paper presents an international teaching experience based on the Research by Design (RbD) methodology, implemented in a workshop organized by universities from Italy, Portugal, and Spain within the Erasmus Blended Intensive Program. Rather than conceiving architectural design as a mere final outcome, it was approached as a research process that generates critical knowledge through engagement with context, tradition, and contemporary challenges of urban sustainability. The workshop, set in the Italian city of Spilimbergo, focused on reinterpreting “threshold spaces” as both architectural and symbolic language. The pedagogical approach integrated urbanism, technology, history, theory, and representation, challenging disciplinary fragmentation.