A cross-cultural initiative for urban exploration and international education aimed at architects and engineers

This contribution highlights a transnational educational initiative that fosters intercultural dialogue through the study of architecture and urban exploration. Promoted by the University of Salerno, in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional de Córdoba and recently supported by the Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires, the initiative was conceived to move beyond the traditional approach to training architects and engineers. It integrates experiential and immersive methodologies directly in the places and reaffirms the central role of study trips and drawing from life. These visits allow students to immerse themselves in urban contexts, draw on site, and develop critical reflections on the built environment. Drawing is thus redefined: no longer merely a technical skill, but a means of perceiving and interpreting space, capable of stimulating spatial awareness, personal expression, and intercultural understanding. Inspired by the figure of the traveling architect, the initiative encourages students to become intellectual nomads, recording their impressions and interpretations graphically as they traverse new urban landscapes. In this way, drawing becomes both a tool of discovery and a bridge between cultures, profoundly reshaping future architects’ and engineers’ perspectives on the dynamic complexity of contemporary cities within an increasingly international framework.