Intrinsic to architectural design are the construction methods and material assemblies used to inform the spatial makeup and quality of space. These systems, while vast, can often be seen as a product of the building’s immediate social, cultural, material, and ecological contexts. Wood structures are built near the forest and stone buildings in rocky areas, whereas earthen structures may be employed due to a material scarcity in the region. Materials are not only a result of context but have a direct impact on a building’s scale and its spatial composition as well. For example, working with heavy earthen materials affords fundamentally different design opportunities than working with lightweight materials. Valuable architectural design innovation can emerge from a deep study of materials, tools of making, and construction processes. This approach enables exciting opportunities for spatial expression and also allows for a critical re-evaluation to address the often-problematic carbon footprint of buildings.

The studio’s investigations are concerned with the architectural configuration of spatial, material, and construction strategies in response to a set of contextual and programmatic parameters. Through analysis and a series of iterative design studies that explore the configuration of part-to-whole relationships and structural hierarchy, students understand the role of material and construction methods as essential parameters to form the architectural expression of each project. Additionally, students grappled with patterns of use, the rituals, and the sequential nuances of a provided program. In this process, looking back towards architecture’s own histories – and understanding the unique relevance of past methods of making and spatial configuration – constitutes an important point of departure. However, it is equally important to look ahead and contextualize past innovations within today’s architectural discourse. This studio expands architecture’s histories of making by also introducing contemporary projects and building practices from around the world, highlighting architecture’s evolving and diverse design configurations. Together, spatial expression (in relation to scale and function), material organization (in relation to assembly tactic and construction method), and contextual parameters (in relation to environment and culture) contribute to a diverse, complex, and ever-evolving architectural language.

Coordinated by Suzanne Lettieri