Muhammad Hissaan Awaiz Randhawa: Suggested course outline and structure for Ar- 601 @NED- UET, 2013 ©. AR-601, is a 16 weeks post- professional design course introducing the students to Advanced methodologies in architectural design. The students of AR- 601 will be encouraged to form their own individual expressions, styles and briefs to formulate an understanding of architecture and advanced research methodologies.
Studio Theme: Perfom-Na-Rative Spaces. Course Outline: What are adequate and challenging criterions by which we can discuss and evaluate architecture? Is it performitivity or is it poetics? Is architecture always about function as per Louis Sullivan’s dictum Form follows Function, which is certainly the most known and misunderstood statement. Falsely propagated, as a dictate against strong personal idealization? Or, is it about the “direct measurements of a building, that of its spaces, the architectural activities it accommodates, and the consumers involved.”(M. R. Savchenko) If architecture is all about function than the human input is becoming redundant or obsolete due to the advancement and automation of building and manufacturing processes. If architecture is about poetics, than perhaps the narrative needs to come from the consumers/ users of architecture themselves. Within the preceding debate how can a designer situate himself/ herself? What is the role of designer as per the current architectural trend? How can we situate ourselves within the [input]/[output] machine age, Ver_2.0? The digital techniques have brought a close to the seemingly enduring separation of function and narration in architecture. Whether scripted (rule based) or sculpted (top to bottom approach) is of no importance here. The following course work will help the students to develop their own architectural ambitions (design_goals), logics (design_rules), design agendas (psychological_fixations), and design methodologies to help them formulate a signature individual expression. The course work is formulated around the underpinning theme of “Research through Design and Design through Research.” Throughout the course work the students will have to produce a body of work to help them amalgamate their design goals and ambitions.
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Muhammad Hissaan Awaiz Randhawa: Suggested course outline and structure for Ar- 601 @NED- UET, 2013 ©.
Course Structure: Three terms of study are divided into three heterogeneous phases. Throughout the course work the students will formulate powerful individual sets of values, defined by strong aesthetic (objects, materials) and intrinsic psychological (behaviors, fixations) factors. This will be discussed in terms of 1: 1 human interaction and also with in a larger public context.
Phase 1 (6 weeks), The students will explore Karachi and its sub-culture, they will form a repository of their interest within the sub-culture of Karachi which can be rooted into ethnicity, religion, sexuality, or the problems of current built up city; producing a document which will require the students to specify their interests, ambitions and to state their research question which will help them push their design goal for the final phase (culminating on a design project and a design report of no more than 1000 words.) Students will be introduced to new design techniques, research methodologies. In order to supplement the essential skills of students, the design studio will offer several intense workshops which will end on production of 1: 1 models, renderings, prototypes; carried to phase 2. The final output of phase 1 will be an open crit/exhibition of student’s work within the galleries of the department, open to all audience. The exhibition will not only give the students a chance to reflect their design ambitions but also encourage them to test the ideas further and to address any short comings of their proposals.
Phase 2 (6 weeks), will start with the introduction of “top to bottom” and “bottom to top” design approach for the students. By this time the students will be encouraged to start testing their research ideas in a physical form, either as an installation, architectural logic or as a set of rules governing the final architectural form. The students will be required to specify a suitable site for their projects. The students will be offered several advanced skilling workshop and will be introduced to digital fabrication. The Phase 2 will end on a design draft of no more than 700 words and having at least 6 illustrations of the students showing the development of their ideas in terms of a final architectural design proposal or a solution. The students will be required to clearly identify (design question), formulate (methodology), reflect (tests) and to demonstrate ( Albeit; Skills (illustrations/ models/ prototypes,)) their architectural research. The design draft will also clearly state the outlines of the final design project and the research question the students have arrived to. The design draft will be distributed amongst all students and faculty for reading.
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Muhammad Hissaan Awaiz Randhawa: Suggested course outline and structure for Ar- 601 @NED- UET, 2013 ©. Phase 3 (4 Weeks), Design_ Synthesis will be the theme of phase three. By this time, the students will be expected to have formulated an intense individual expression and adequate research to back their design proposal. The final outcome of phase 3 will be a strongly driven design investigation and its outcome (architectural implementation). The individual projects will vary from student to student. The diversity of projects will open a forum within the students whereby the students will benefit from each other by tapping into different researches and design methodologies amongst themselves. At the end of phase 3, the students will be required to clearly, beautifully and strongly illustrate their ideas, research questions and design ambitions by means of renderings, drawings, models and supporting write-ups. The students will arrange for an exhibition. The strongest two students will have the luxury to design the exhibition; whereas the rest will help them setup the final end of the term show.
Teaching Muhammad Hissaan Awaiz Randhawa (M.Arch (Dist.), Bartlett, London, UK; B.Arch, NED, Karachi, Pak.) Hissaan's Profile Web: www.hissaan.com Email: hissaan.awaiz@gmail.com
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