Interfaces: Systemic Overlap for Urban Diagnosis

Abstract

An urban analysis methodology is presented and applied in the final-year architecture workshop, conceived as a teaching tool for understanding the complexity of the territory from a critical, visual, and systemic perspective. Through multi-scale maps and the superposition of layers (social, economic, symbolic, and regulatory) students identify conflicts, potentialities, and zones of convergence called interfaces, where different urban systems intertwine and generate significant dynamics. This approach transforms the analysis into an active learning experience, based on Research by Design, in which contextual understanding is not a preliminary step but rather a constitutive part of the architectural project. Combines accessible tools with collective dynamics, promoting critical thinking and informed design decisions. Its flexibility and replicability across different courses, scales, and contexts make it a powerful pedagogical strategy for training architects capable of consciously addressing contemporary urban issues.