Introduction – Intersecting Landscapes

Author: Prof.Dr. Besnik Aliaj, Prof As. Sotir Dhamo, Prof. As. Skender Luarasi, Dr. Genti Avdija
Affiliation: Polis University, Tirana, Albania.

Introduction
This Workshop is a research activity organized un- der the framework of the International “Double Degree” PhD by POLIS University (Tirana Albania) & Ferrara University (Italy), in the fields of Architecture and Urban Planning. This interdisciplinary workshop builds on the previous and ongoing research work undertaken under the Department of the Scientific Research within the Faculty of Research and Devel- opment, and the Observatory of the Mediterranean Basin (OMB) research unit), at POLIS University. The workshop focuses on the rehabilitation, preserva- tion, transformation, and reinvention of the built environment on a regional, urban, and architectural scale. This workshop of the 39th PhD cycle, will fo- cus on the Cross-Border Region of the Prespa Lakes and Pustec Municipality framing the latter as the intersection of infrastructural, environmental, cul- tural and habitation landscapes. Each year the re- search activity promoted by the workshop is aimed at a specific topic, which is articulated critically and speculatively by the PhD students individually, in order to develop their capacity for operating within a given planning context by developing theoretical tools, and by generating design processes and new research paths. The research initiative is organized in 3 moments throughout the first academic year.