1001 Exploring university morphology. Bergamo as case study Luísa Cannas da Silva, Teresa Valsassina Heitor ICIST – Instituto de Engenharia de Estruturas, Território e Construção, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisboa. E-mail: luisacanasdasilva@tecnico.ulisboa.pt, teresa.heitor@tecnico.ulisboa.pt Abstract. Universities have a preponderant role in today’s societal models especially under the influence of the knowledge economy. They have been in the core of development — economical, social, inter alia — and their role within urban context has changed in order to respond to the third strand of the university mission — that of civic engagement. Whether conceived as autonomous entities or diffused within the urban fabric, universities are a key element in urban dynamics and policies and they are progressively more included in strategic plans and development actions worldwide. Therefore, it has become significant to understand the extent of university integration within urban territories. This paper aims at exploring an analytical framework for university precincts within urban fabrics, understanding the different types of urban insertion and connections established with local and regional players. The focus is placed on the impact of the university precinct at the level of the adjacent urban fabrics, on an attempt to understand the ways universities can relate to their hosting cities, from a morphological point of view. The University of Bergamo, Italy is used as a case study, for the diversity present in the urban insertion of its physical premises. Key Words: University precinct; urban integration; campus; knowledge economy; university morphology Introduction This paper focuses on universities and their precincts and the role they perform in urban context. It relies on the premise that universities are a key element in urban dynamics and urban policies and that they have the ability to be powerful urban generators, attracting people and flows, and creating urban vitality (Calder & Greenstein, 2001). Their physical settings act, thus, as the first vehicle through which universities can interact with their hosting city. Within the context of the knowledge economy, universities are progressively being perceived as one of the most influential elements in society, since they impact on city development on several levels (Wiewel & Perry, 2008). They have the ability to change city demographics, to act as economical developers and to impact on several ways on society in general. Besides, universities can contribute to urban regeneration, by directly improving the quality of the urban fabric, and helping to reclaim parts of cities and leverage funds from public regional players. Therefore, it is urgent to understand the full extent of their impact, and to explore university-city relationships. This paper aims at analysing these university physical settings, on an attempt to understand their impact on the universities’ vicinity, and the ability they have to promote synergies and relationships with their urban surroundings. In order to better explore these matters, the University of Bergamo, located in the north of Italy was chosen as a case study, for its morphological features and insertion in the urban fabric of its hosting city. This paper is organized in three parts: the first explores the university general context and the key themes involving university facilities planning. The second explores the morphology of Bergamo recurring to space syntax tools, always focusing on the university and its relationship