Teaching is divided into lectures, seminars, exercises.
From the Roman period up to the Late antiquity, the Middle Ages and the Modern Age, the lessons analyze the main building practices adopted in the different historical and local contexts, paying attention to building materials and their use and evaluating the main characters of structures and building elements from foundations to elevations, to horizontal (with particular interest for arches, vaults and masonry domes) and vertical connections, to roofing, to installations, coating and finishing.
The main production processes of architecture, the organization of the building site, the procurement of construction materials, the working tools and the machines used are considered as well. The figure of the designer is analysed, as well as his training in relation to the architectural, technical and scientific culture, his design tools, his role in the building site.
The lessons regarding "The rock and its use in historic buildings" (20 hours) held by prof. Alberto Clerici, touches topics related to the characteristics of stone material, its extraction process, processing, degradation.
As part of the course and of the teaching module, visits are planned to some of the Lombardy mining areas, to production centers for building materials and to museum parks in the area.
Simple exercises, that students must perform at their choice individually or in small groups, are planned on topics of inquiry proposed by the teaching team and appropriately guided in the classroom.