Course syllabus

Course-PM

ARK123 ARK123 Matter, space, structure 1 lp1 HT22 (22.5 hp)

Course is offered by the department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

Contact details

Daniel Norell (Examiner) norell@chalmers.se 

Naima Callenberg (Course Leader) naima@chalmers.se

Peter Christiansen (Teacher) peter@chalmers.se

Malgorzata Zboinska (Teacher) malgorzata.zboinska@chalmers.se

MSS

Matter Space Structure emphasises a design research approach in which artistic development of each student and the development of common knowledge and discourse in the studio is pursued in tandem. Projects are developed through focused and informed experimentation and an iterative process that evolves through phases articulated in the brief. The artefacts and media that are the outcome of the studio embody artistic and disciplinary approaches, and through their process of making, they also generate methods and know-how.

Course purpose

The first Matter Space Structure (MSS 1) studio of 2022-2023 will address MSS’s ongoing exploration of architecture that departs from existing environments, buildings, and materials. This involves extending the architect’s engagement with “a project” to include a longer time span and untypical responsibilities, ranging from what happens before building, such as ways of investigating a context or the sourcing of materials, to what happens after building, such as occupancy, reparation, and transformation. Rather than dismissing these issues as mundane or relegating them to other disciplines, the studio will consider them as architectural and designerly problems.

Within in this framework, this studio will explore the before-aspect of architecture through the notion of context. How can, or should, that which is already present in and around a site influence that which is about to be designed? What does “a context” in architecture encompass? What does it mean to be contextual? And what are the means that can be used to investigate a context? The projects developed within the studio will draw from current discourse on context as well as from alternative representation techniques that study material, programmatical, situational, temporal, and other aspects.

Investigating both physical and cultural notions, we are looking into context as a device in the conception and production of architecture - as a library with inherent formal and material languages to draw from. Through this process we aim to broaden our understanding of the contexts, both as in site, as in design influence, and as in regulation. This, in turn, will raise further questions: What lies before building? How are buildings made and anchored to a context? What are the agendas, motivations, and strategies one may have for building anew? In what ways can that which already exists in a context be a point of departure for alternative scenarios?

Through a set of four phases, we aim to extend the process of investigating a context towards design. We will speculate on, and reflect on, how buildings may be designed in relation to context, seen through the lens of both history, present and future. This becomes a way of interrogating how we may inform the outcome of design, its effects, and the circumstances of design, in untypical ways.

In addition to context, we will address other notions with implications for context, such as site, identity, and value. This will tie into larger narratives and imaginaries for architecture as a practice and as a discipline that are formed in the wake of the climate crisis. As a response to endless extraction and growth, we will seek to develop alternative scenarios based on a degrowth scenario. Resources that are present in the context will be revalued in relation to such a shift in which economies are shrinking and resources are scarce. Therefore, all work should be based on use of resources in relation to context, building both upon contextual narratives, qualities, and understandings of identity, as well as on physical material resources linked to the site. This means that we will explore context as an agent of change in ways that go beyond problem solving.

Schedule

TimeEdit

See Canvas schedule and pdf under module General Course Documents 

Course literature

See Course Pm under module General Course Documents 

Course design

The following is a common structure for the course:

> Reference group meetings 
> International lecture series for MSS direction
> Project documentation and reflection in booklet format
> Pin-up, critiques and seminars
> Final critique
> Collective display / Exhibition
> Portfolio hand-in / Reflection

The course is split into four modules. Last three modules are finished with a documentation hand-in and a critique/pin-up session (except for the last module for which there is only a portfolio hand-in). The tutoring is organised in group’s and individual sessions. 

We will offer a self-organized workshop with photogrammetry and scanning as the main focus, also focusing on mediation och representations. Additionally, we will conduct two literature seminars relating to context and representations. 

Any late changes to the schedule will be communicated via Canvas (announcements) and updated on Canvas schedule accordingly. The schedule in pdf can be found under the module General Course Documents. Also see CoursePM for further information.

We expect all students to use the studio spaces on the fifth floor to construct an active studio culture. Tutorials will be held in the studio space. 

Missed deadlines, seminars and presentations will result in a complementary task and communicated by course leader. 

Learning objectives and syllabus

Learning objectives:

 

KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING 
Demonstrate knowledge about a variety of methods to obtain understanding of the context after the course.
Demonstrate basic understanding of a conceptual design process and knowledge to control of the design process and maintain the initial conceptual properties in the final design proposal.
Refer to relevant knowledge of the topic and demonstrate a critical understanding of architectural history and theory in general 

SKILLS AND ABILITIES 
Synthesize ideas and intentions into physical models and make an informed selection among alternative design proposals.
Apply various techniques of the conditions that frame the site such as modelling, collaging, diagramming.
Practice the iterative method from the alternative design concepts, the spatial sketches, to the designs presentation
Prove prolificness in conventional drawings and model skills along with experimental abilities in alternative representations. 
Use the informed drawings and models as evocative arguments in the contemporary architectural conversation.

VALUES AND APPROACHES
Use the design as a rhetoric approach based on a clear set of values
Put forward arguments for the discourse in the project itself.
Reflect chosen approaches, values and evaluation criteria associated with the design iterations

 

Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.

Study plan

Examination form

Participation at a minimum of 80% attendance to all compulsory activities, including supervision sessions, seminars, pin-ups, and reviews is required to pass the course.

Grading is cumulative across the duration of the studio:

20% Material presented at the mid review.
40% Material presented at the final review.
20% Development of the work across the semester.

20% Degree of participation in text seminars.

The final grade thus takes progress during the entire studio into account, as well as the quantity and quality of the work presented at the final review. The work is in addition assessed for its level of effort, its level of engagement with themes presented in the studio brief, and its graphic and verbal presentation.

Grades are Pass with distinction (5), Pass with credit (4), Pass (3), Fail. In case of a fail grade, the student will receive a written list of complimentary tasks to complete, but no further supervision. Not presenting at the final review or less than 80% attendance will result in a fail grade.