Entwurf V - IX (GD ???)

Abstract

This studio explores our values toward natural materials by examining them at various scales. We’ll compare modern and premodern materials like concrete vs. stone, gypsum board vs. earth, and industrial lumber vs. solid timber as well as differences in their applications, consideration of the factors that drove material transitions, and the relationship between the site and sources of materials.

Objective

Each individual student is able to: Phase I: Research, documentation and concept (7 weeks) - Representing the behavior and movement of people and material in the given space. (1) - Understanding of the properties and uses of local building materials its architectural design characteristics. (2) - Understanding the social context of past and present modes of material production and architectural methods. (2) - Applying the methods of field research by actively reaching out to persons of interest and creating a professional relationship of respect and exchange. (3) (6) - Applying the learnings about local building materials and culture by detail drawing. (3) - Analyzing how modernization changed pre-modern modes of material production and architectural methods and evaluate the findings in form of a report of change.. (4)(5) - Formulate a manifesto that proposes a vision for a communal space centered around creation embedded within the given site. (6) Phase II: Designing a center for creation (8 weeks) - Representing a coherent architectural proposal for a center of creation embedded within the given site. (1) - Discerning which traditional knowledge should be inherited and which modern technologies require transformation. (2) - Applying sustainability perspectives related to the local environment in the design proposal. (3) - Applying the learning of phase I by effectively using existing local industries and resources in the design. (3) - Analyze the existing building and consider its current condition against the manifesto for a center of creation. (4) (5) - Ability to propose architectural solutions that highlight the characteristics of the chosen materials. (6) Cognitive scale (1) Remember (2) Understand (3) Apply (4) Analyze (5) Evaluate (6) Create Link Grading Criteria: The submissions will be graded before each review. Each submission is graded according to the following criteria: - Completeness and punctuality of submission - Understanding material & human network - Learnings applied to a report - Multiplicity of considerations - Clarity of concept for the development of the site and in consideration of the material construction method - Coexistence of inheritance and transform - Rationality of material selection and usage - Understanding change of material usage - Visualization, the ability to communicate a design effectively with compelling drawings, models and text The final grade consists of the following partial grades: • Mid review submission: 50 % (group work: 30%, individual work: 20%) • Final review submission: 50% (individual work: 50%)

Content

Stone, wood, and soil—natural materials that have sustained human life and building since antiquity—were most often gathered from the land itself. Today, their value is being re-evaluated: not only for their capacity to reduce carbon consumption in transport, construction, and operation, and to lessen environmental impact, but also for their potential to revive local industries and communities. In this studio, we will seek to reconstruct our values toward natural materials by exploring them at various scales. By comparing modern and premodern building materials such as concrete and stone, gypsum board and soil, industrial lumber and solid timber, and their differences in application, we seek to understand the transitions from one to the other over time. The relationship between the site and its resources form the basis for this comparison. It is not a nostalgic act of preserving the tradition for its own sake, nor the uncritical celebration of modern technology as “progress,” but a practice of discerning what knowledge must be carried forward, and what techniques must be applied. The studio will be led by three architects/ researchers: Junko Sanada (stone), Fumi Kashimura (wood), and Kazuya Morita (soil), cultivating the capacity to envision new modes of sustainable architecture. The site is the former school grounds in Feldis, Graubünden, Switzerland. The studio will seek to design a center for creation that supports local livelihoods, industries, consciously engaging with construction materials and their use. These creations draw on the village’s resources, including locally produced food, to support the settlement’s sustainability; the designed center will become the nucleus of future community life. Through this project, we will explore how architecture can sustain local material cycles, while imagining and shaping possible futures for society. The studio is structured in two phases: Phase I: Research, documentation and concept making Phase I, primarily group work, starts with a one-day workshop on the properties of materials, followed by an introduction into field research. This introduction serves as a preparation for the overnight site visit in the second week. Phase II: Designing a center for creation In Phase II, the values cultivated in phase I are translated into concrete design for a Center of Creation. It is strongly recommended to take the studio in combination with the seminar week as it is an integral part of Japan Studio III.

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