Abstract

[ICDS. Informal city design studio. Experiences on the contemporary urban space] The paper aims to narrate the ICDS (https://www.icdslab.com/), a research laboratory at the Department of Architecture of Federico II, which emerges as a place of experimenta-tion to define the contribution of architecture schools in the construction of urban space as a site of relationships, capable of embracing the plural, informal, and fluid di-mension of contemporary civitas. These experiences inquire into the “right to the city,” seeking to focus on the role of the architect as a figure capable of reading and interpret-ing contexts in their multidimensionality. Building upon these premises, ICDS utilizes informality as a tool to interpret the context and overcome an authorial approach that caters to the universal needs of the average man.