TECHNOLOGY

The methodology for this section places an emphasis on how parameters of climate, construction, and material define the making of a piece of architecture, both in form and in detail. By making we are interested in how these parameters control and define both the broad decisions and the specific details behind implementation and expression of a construction system in a building.

The development of the details of the building will always manifest themselves in constructive layers that are inherent in all constructive systems - Bearing, Insulation, Protection + Finish. Furthermore, each of these layers must always relate to a specific condition between the environment and the building - Foundation, Wall, Roof. The complexity of these interactions makes the resolution of even a simple building a challenging task of coordination and synchronization between the demands of Function, Constructability & Aesthetics.

It will quickly become apparent that there are many more constructive possibilities than can be taught in a five-year curriculum, let alone a two-course sequence. What is more interesting and helpful for you is to learn a methodology for dealing with the variety of constructive situations students face. This method will present a way of designing and detailing simultaneously, which means the characteristics of the various construction types will reference a larger strategy of organization, an organization that operates at every scale of the building and the site.

Building Construction I and II introduces students to building construction and materials, and their interrelationship with the environment, with the goal of introducing you to a more holistic conception of architecture. While initial architectural concepts may involve understanding construction and material in spatial or formal terms, the making of architecture is defined by parameters from the climate, the wsite, and the efficiency and logic of the systems used. Construction and material can reciprocally inform a design concept and enrich its ultimate potential. These courses are to be understood as parallel and integrated with the studio experience. Just as it is expected that issues of sustainability and construction manifest themselves within your studio projects, it is also expected that issues of form and space manifest themselves in the building construction course. Structure and material are not to be applied, either conceptually or literally, to architecture: they are inherent in every line you draw, just as they should be inherent in every work of architecture you create.

Environmental Systems I and II are concerned with the simple but profound fact that all inhabited buildings separate the world into two climatic zones: inside and outside. The climate of the “outside” is defined by natural forces we typically call “weather”, while the climate of the “inside” is based on human comfort. Collectively, the strategies, spaces, assemblies, and machines that maintain a fairly constant indoor climate in the face of a dynamic outdoor climate are called “environmental systems”.