The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Astra Zarina e Civita di Bagnoregio
© Betty R. Torrell 2019
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The impact of her brilliant, passionate and insightful teaching have carried me to this day, inspiring my work in architecture, urban design and planning as well as my appreciation of history, culture and life.
There is no past we can bring back by longing for it. There is only an eternal now that builds and creates out of the past something new and better. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Astra Zarina e Civita di Bagnoregio March 8. 2019 Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy
Betty R. Torrell Assistant Professor of Architecture + Design SUNY Alfred State College
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The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Over the years Civita has served as a living laboratory for dozens of students, who have surveyed its residents, analyzed its economic base, complied its genealogy, sketched its buildings, collected its recipes, scrutinized its church restoration, identified its plants…and other projects. (Mooney, 2001)
Astra Zarina in Civita To say that Civita has been the classroom or “living laboratory” for the University of Washington’s Italian Hilltowns program is to understate Civita’s importance to the students learning experience. It also understates the importance of the innovative didactic methods of Professor Astra Zarina.
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Betty R. Torrell
What happened on the Italian Hilltowns program in Civita was a result of the unique nexus of Astra and Civita.
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
Through Astra the students were introduced to the unique patrimony of Civita. She not only shared her knowledge, but her respect for the inhabitants and their way of life; and through their example and her’s, her vision for the importance of a life well lived.
And the students were encouraged to document everything. Only by looking carefully, could one really begin to see and understand.
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Betty R. Torrell
In addition to typical academic lectures and slideshows, the students were expected to consider ‘every moment a lesson’ from examining the ingenious shape of a kitchen cutting board in your host mother’s kitchen to the flow of a staircase descending a hilltown alleyway.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The formal curriculum consisted of individual or group student projects in Civita. Projects were as diverse as documenting a traditional kitchen or cantine with measured drawings and photographs to excavating a cistern, or the inventory of a Civita garden.
Reflection through field-sketching and journaling brought home the lessons.
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Zarina, 1980
Field trips to other hilltowns gave the students an opportunity to discover lessons in Italy's urban form, historic monuments, and contemporary architecture.
Betty R. Torrell
Students also participated in Italian language lessons with the Italian language professor.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
The informal curriculum with Astra could be: ▪ Preparing and sharing a didactic dinner ▪ Students and Civitonici under the loggia in Tony and Astra’s garden ▪ Swimming at Lago Bolsena ▪ Designing and making program-logoed t-shirts ▪ Soccer in the piazza or ▪ A campagna fieldtrip in the valley….
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
The informal curriculum with the Civitonici could be: ▪ Cooking and eating with the host family ▪ A trip to the cantina ▪ Shopping trips into Bagnoregio ▪ Exclusions to chestnut grove ▪ Laundry day at the lavatoio ▪ Sitting in the piazza ▪ Going to church ▪ Climbing the bell tower or ▪ A beer at il Forno with your host father….
Betty R. Torrell
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Marenzo, 1966
The students also participated in cultural events: ▪ Writing and preforming a melodrama play for la festa ▪ Practicing and preforming the madrigal “Non Vidi Mai” in the church ▪ Making and launching a pallone ▪ Participating in the infioriati and religious processions and ▪ Sewing a banner as a prize for the palio
Torrell, 1979
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Civita as Classroom
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Student Reflections
I entered Professor Zarina’s design studio on my first day as an architecture student at the University of Washington, fresh off the prairies of Oklahoma. From that point in 1976, she guided me on a journey that has influenced my life to this day.
That period gave me the grounding for much of my professional work. Ann Hirschi, Architect, IHT ’79 (Torrell, 2014)
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Betty R. Torrell
It did not take me long before I had signed up for the Italian Studies program she conceived and directed during the summer and fall of 1977; first in the hilltown of Civita di Bagnoregio and then in Rome.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Student Reflections
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
It was in Civita that Astra introduced me and the other students to…learning by directly engaging with the patrimony of the ancient cultures that formed such a rich environment for all types of human activity. Not just the architecture, but the agriculture, food, art, literature, and music.
David Boyd, AIA, IHT Alumnus (Torrell, 2014)
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Betty R. Torrell
The impact of her brilliant, passionate and insightful teaching have carried me to this day, inspiring my work in architecture, urban design and planning as well as my appreciation of history, culture and life.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Student Reflections
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
We also learned that sitting in a classroom was not enough…one must take personal responsibility to learn throughout your life in and out of the academic setting. Her influence lives on in hundreds of buildings and spaces designed by her students, and in their own personal and professional lives as well.
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Betty R. Torrell
Michael Dowd, Architect, IHT ’80 (Torrell, 2014)
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Student Reflections
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Not only did she introduce me to the architectural wonders of Lazio, Tuscany, Umbria and beyond, she showed how architecture is connected to place, traditions and people.
Professor David Goble Ph.D., IHT ’79 (Torrell, 2014)
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Betty R. Torrell
Our experience living with a family (Mario and Domenica) in Civita di Bagnoregio, washing our clothes in the town’s fontana, preparing and eating fried zucchini blossoms from Astra’s garden, singing in San Donato gave me a fuller understanding of architecture and urbanism than any class I’ve ever taken.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Student Reflections
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Goethe and His Italian Friends. Drawing by Friedrich Bury. Goethe Museum, Düsseldorf http: //www.wga.hu/fra mes-e.html? /Html/b/bury/inde x.html
She taught me about masterpieces, but also about mistakes and illusions. She taught me that we are not only made by our brain, but by instinct and pleasure. She taught me to appreciate everything growing, because that is how the future happens. Enrico Morteo, Architect, IHT Student ’79, IHT Teaching Assistant ’80 (Torrell, 2014)
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Betty R. Torrell
She taught me how to look at urban structure and how to pay attention to historical layers. But she also taught me also about literature and music. And, moreover, the way architecture is always the result of arts and behaviors; architecture as a human scene, history as a heritage to preserve carefully while we are looking to the future.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Methods and Means
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Zarina, 1980
Pedagogy Astra’s teaching methods were innovative and intuitive. It was when writing a review of the semester for my Alfred State Studio Sorrento Course Narrative did I come to understand how closely Professor Zarina’s pedagogy paralleled an Applied Learning model well before David A. Kolb published his ground-breaking experiential learning theory (ELT) in 1984.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Methods and Means
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Applied Learning Applied learning pedagogies share a design fundamental: the nurturing of learning and growth through a reflective, experiential process that takes students out of the traditional classroom setting. The approach is grounded in the conviction that learning is maximized when it is active, engaged, and collaborative. (Ash & Clayton, 2009)
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Betty R. Torrell
Zarina, 1980
Astra’s Applied Learning pedagogy, (knowledge, action and reflect), gave the students the process to Identify and align with the rich culture of Civita.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Methods and Means
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Meyer and Land (2006) describe this process of learning that to gain a new insight or perspective on the world, one must change oneself and hence lose one part of one’s old self. Astra’s method’s enabled Civita to be the crucible of learning and transformation in the sense above. And this legacy has shaped each student’s vision of the world and through their work the built environment.
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Betty R. Torrell
The Transformative Moment As evidenced by the students’ reflections, Astra’s teaching was transformative. This transformation of the student relies on the shift in “their own (the students’) perspective of the world based on their interpretations of their personal experiences.” (Gargon and Collay, 2006)
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand .
Leonardo da Vinci
I would like to thank: • Professor Giovanni Attili for the invitation to be here today, • The Commune of Bagnoregio for making this event possible, • All my friends in Civita for always making me feel welcome here, • My Italian parents in Civita, Gesuina and Zefire Medori, • Tony for his ongoing support for my work, • Lauris for his collaboration on this presentation and as always in my life, and • Astra for that transformative moment in Civita that changed my life.
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Betty R. Torrell
Thank You
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Memorial Groundbreaking
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Reception
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Reception
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Reception
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Dedication of Astra Zarina Room in Palazzo Alemani
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Tony Costa Heywood
Steven Holl
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Tommaso Ponziani
Betty R. Torrell
Seminar Images: Presentations
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Sandro Rocchi
Clark Pickett
Enrico Morteo
Giovanni Attili
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Seminar Images: Presentations
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina – Addendum A
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Seminar Images: Presentations
Luciana Vergaro
Betty R. Torrell
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Giancarlo Baciarello
Betty R. Torrell
Antonella Bastoni
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina References Ash, S.L. & Clayton, P.H. (2009). Generating, deepening and documenting learning: the power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, Vol. I, Fall 2009, p. 25-48. Gargon, G.W. Jr. & Collay, M. (2006). Constructivist learning design: key questions for teaching to standards. Teaching Theology and Religion, Vol. 11, Issue, July 2008, p. 167. Kolb, D.A. (1984). Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Marenzio, L. (1966). Ten madrigals for mixed voices. (Ed. Arnold, D.). London. Meyer, J.H.F., Land, R. & Baillie (Eds.) (2006). Threshold concepts and transformational learning – Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers. Mooney, C.J. (2001). Notes from academe -- sketches of hope on an Italian hillside. The Chronicle of Higher Education, Vol. XLVII, Number 47, p. A48.
Torrell, B.R. (2014). Institute of Classical Architecture and Art Arthur Ross Award Nomination for Astra Zarina. Seattle, Washington. Zarina, A. (1980). Italian Hilltown Program 1980. Seattle, Washington: University of Washington.
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Torrell, B.R. (1979). Italian Hilltowns Schedule Summer, Civita Di Bagnoregio.
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
Photograph Citations All photographs by R. Lauris Bitners and Betty R. Torrell unless otherwise noted below:
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Betty R. Torrell
Page 2 – Right: Photo courtesy of the Astra Zarina Archives Page 6 – Right/Upper: Enrico Morteo Page 11 – Right: Photo courtesy of the Astra Zarina Archives Page 15 – Right/Lower: Michael Lewallen
The Didactic Pedagogy of Astra Zarina
© IHT/Professor Astra Zarina
Every Moment a Lesson
Alfred State College –Department of Architecture + Design
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Fine