Architectural Design III: House Behaviorology in Switzerland (Kaijima)

Abstract

The course focuses on a house and housing design in and around Zurich. Through the analysis of existing houses, including their users and locations, and by designing a housing complex, students learn about basic principles of housing design and the knowledge about issues of private/public, common spatial design for urban ecology.

Objective

Knowledge: • Design research by actor network drawing (Week 1-4) Learning about actor networks Learning basic research methods (collection and analysis of data and information) Understanding a building design by actor networks Visualizing a building by actor network drawing Finding design principles by drawing • Principles of house and housing design (Week 5-9) Understanding the form of a house by understanding the behavior of climate, material, users, elements and typology Learning which spaces are needed for houses and housing Learning about dimensions in a house and housing design • Private/public and common spaces in an urban context,Design for inclusivity, Principles of Detailing and Construction (Week 10-14) Learning about the architectural form and the gradient of privacy in houses and housing Finding the potential of commonly used spaces Learning how to design common spaces Learning about how to design housing for everyone (children, elderly and differently abled people). Learning about the behavior of architecture in relation to weather and climate Learning about the behavior of materials Learning about the behavior of structure and gravity Learning the basics of detailing and construction Skills: • Hand drawing by pencil • CAD drawing and 3d modeling • Model building • Learning the character of different tools, the skills to apply them as design methods and hybridizing them to achieve the desired results.

Content

Architectural behaviorology and actor network theory are our two guiding principles to not only design architecture but also understand our current existing environment. By understanding a building, a house not as an isolated object but as a node in a vast and far reaching network, or several networks, we grow conscious of the impact, which our design has, not only on the specific plot, but on the neighbors, the city, the environment, the society. Vice-versa, analyzing and understanding the networks, which have shaped existing buildings, helps us to better understand how and why the design of those buildings came to be. While identifying the relationship between actors within the network, we simultaneously observe the behavior of each actor as a result of their relationship. The behavior can be static or dynamic, actors can be human, non-human, animate or inanimate. How does a building behave towards its environment? What behavior do inhabitants engage in within and around a building? How do we have to design to take Behaviors of certain materials into account? House and housing is the base of our living environment and a diverse fields in architecture. House behaviorology will set the challenge to find sustainable living condition in the city, by understanding historical examples and their geography, density, economic standing, and time period. At first, to find the character and essence of today’s house and housing design in Zurich, we will start with analyzing existing single-family houses in and around the city. We will research and map how these basic units of housing relate to the users, to each other and to their surroundings. What kind of purposes they fulfilled and what kind of activities and behaviors do these houses enable? Second, we will try to improve on the design by changing the single-family house into housing complexes, responding to the need of greater density, but still retaining the qualities of the original houses. Where do we find synergies, when combining houses? What kind of common spaces arise and how can we make use of them to make better neighborhoods? Simultaneously we will have a close look on designing for inclusivity. How do we design for marginalized groups, such as the elderly, children or differently abled people? How can we live together in the urban ecology? Grading Criteria The submissions will be graded before each review. Students are expected to do individual work. Each submission will be graded according to the following points: • Completeness and punctuality of the submission • Research method, the ability to find and analyze information • Understanding of the concept of behaviorology and the ability to implement behaviorology within the design • Structural design, construction details and choice of material, in connection with concept of behaviorology and the actor network • Choice of typology and design, in connection with the concept of behaviorology and the actor network • Visualization, the ability to make easy to understand and compelling drawings The final grade consists of the following partial grades: • Mid review 1 submission: 30% • Mid review 2 submission: 30% • Final review submission: 40%

Resources