RMIT ARCHITECTURE ELECTIVE OFFERINGS – SEMESTER 1, 2015 Radical Strategies
Leanne Zilka
Compound Cities
Simon Whibley
Material
Jan Van Schaik
100YC world Wide Workshop
Jose Alfano, Brent Allpress, Tom Kovac, Michael Mei
Lets start a family
Peter Knight
Practice Research Placement
Emma Jackson
Making
John Cherrey
Putting Pieces Together
John Cherrey
Incubator
Gwyllim Jahn
Strange Composites
Roland Snooks
Extra
Ben Ackerman and Vanessa Mooney
Truss Exercises
John Doyle
Waterfronts
Danielle Peck and Helen Walter
Research Assistant Positions Intricate Assemblies
Nicholas Williams – please contact tutor directly – this is not a ballot option
Exhibition Assistants
John Doyle – please contact tutors directly – this is not a ballot option
Compound Cities In Italo Calvino’s novel, Invisible Cities, Marco Polo describes the cities of his experience to Kubla Kahn
MArch BArch Elective thu 10:30-1:30 design hub, level 5 Simon Whibley and guests
Proceeding eighty miles into the northwest wind, you reach the city of Euphemia. where the merchants of seven nations gather at every solstice and equinox. Now I will tell how Octavia, the spider-web city, is made. There is a precipice between two steep mountains: the city is over the void, bound to the two crests with ropes and chains and catwalks. This is not true of Zoe. In every point of this city you can, in turn, sleep, make tools, cook, accumulate gold, disrobe, reign, sell, question oracles. What is later revealed is that Polo is not in fact describing different cities, but the same city, Venice, over and over again, from different points of view, through different lenses. Our contemporary cities are the most complex of human creations, their physical realities dependent on forces that are both concrete and abstract, operating locally or from across the other side of the world. This is seen, acutely, in the cities of our region - those cities still in formation - shaped by economics, ecology, infrastructure, trade, immigration and cultural specificities as much as they are by the activities of planning and design. Compound Cities is an elective in urban exploration, of cities within the asia/pacific region that will develop skills in urban analysis, research and architectural representation. The work undertaken in this elective will form part of the Compound Cities Exhibition to be held later this year. The elective will be undertaken in three parts. Each part will be focussed around an event, with a break in weeks 6-8. Part 1 - Explorations (week 1-5) Weekly Research exercises culminating in weekend drawing workshop with RMIT staff and local invited critics. How might a city be understood through the relationships of its defining components? How might other cities assist in exploring such particularities? How might other urban representations, such as film, or art, or literature provide insights into what a compound city is? Part 2 - Speculations Weeks (Weeks 9-12, symposium day week 16) Weekly Research exercises culminating in symposium with RMIT staff and international invited critics. What happens to a city when these components shift, or new ones are introduced? Do territories appear or vanish? How can the urban character of a city be adapted to these new compounds? Some themes explored will be: the twin city and the sister city / the constructed and ecological city / the digital and visible city / cities of locality and logistics / cities of immigration and borders / city of layers / the personal and infrastructural city /
material the stuff that architecture is made from A single brick is mundane, but hundreds and thousands of
footprint is. Each has its very own look, touch, feel,
them stacked together are a deeply moving and fascinating
smell and temperature. Some can only be ordered in
phenomenon.
large quantities from large outlets and some are only available through bespoke fabricators. Navigating all
What are the materials that buildings are made from?
these variables is daunting.
How do architects decide which ones to use? Where do they come from?
This subject will teach you what to look for, where to
How do they go together?
look. It will outline the pitfalls and arm you with the
How long do they last?
skills necessary to communicate with suppliers and
How are they priced?
contractors, to articulate your choices to your clients and to expand your knowledge to empower you to
Each material has its own constraints and qualities defining how they react to the environments we place them in, how long they last and what their ecological
create compelling architectural languages.
Alvaar Aalto’s Kulttuuritalo Helsinki, 1955 - 58
when:
thursdays 9:30 > 12:30
Where: Design hub, level 6 Contact: jan.vanschaik@RMIT.edu.au
material, semester 1 2015
RMIT University has instigated an elective subject in the Masters Course which enables students to be placed within a practice for 12 weeks. During that placement the student is exposed to various roles within the participating practice which creates R+D projects for the students to work on - these may take the form of competitions, independently derived speculative projects or possibly primary research within a particular field defined by the office. The project is an opportunity to interact with an office and a project team, and develop skills in data gathering, analysis and visual communication.
Briefing session Monday 3rd March 3,30pm Design Hub Pavillion 1 L10
participating practices:
NH Architecture ARM antarctica Minifie van Schaik
lyons index
Lecturer : John Cherrey Location Level 7 workshop - 8.07.79 Times Thursday 9.30 - 12.30 & 2 x intensive MAKING weekend workshops - dates TBA Elective is suited to both Bachelors and Masters level students Assessment: folio of works & succinct journal
Architecture is all about MAKING in one form or another. In this elective you will explore one area of making in archiarchi tecture, the MAKING of physical objects. You will consider ideas about making including conception, design, scale, precision, tolerance, materials and process. MAKING is a complex task and at its best it requires a synsyn thesis of many things. To be excel in MAKING, reflection both during and after creation is essential; reflection will form a key part of the work you produce.
The work produced will range in scale from very small obob jects, to models and larger scale furniture scale designs. This is a workshop based elective. We will make use of much of the remarkable array of equipment to be found within the school. At the completion of the elective you will have broadened your skill base substantially both is making by hand and with analogue and digital equipment. You will have sharpened your sense of materials by resolvresolv ing a range of task given to you. And lastly you will have developed a far more sophisticated approach to questions and process of MAKING.
reflections on
MAKING
Thursdays 1.30 -4.30 SAB 080.08.009 Lecturer - John Cherrey john.cherrey@rmit.edu.au masters elective
putting the pieces together
In this course, you will explore the world of architectural detailing. If you want to understand how buildings are designed and constructed close up, then this in the elective for you. The approach is hands-on. Following an intoduction where we examine the principles of detailing, you will be commence the first of three assignments. For each assignment you will be given a set of architectural drawings and asked to complete a a selection of the missing details. The work you detail will be form award winning practices, both local and international. the class will be like working working in an office; you produce the work and then it will be marked-up for correction and improvement. During the class, you will be given the technical know-how to assist you in working through your set of detail problems.
INCUBATOR or, Fast Design of Slow Robotics: How to Design Habitats for Single Sense Robotic Organisms
ˈɪŋkjʊbeɪtə/ noun
The elective provides a working laboratory for students to develop fundamental programming skills and electronic hardware prototypes capable of augmenting, manipulating, constructing or subverting their surrounding environment. A recent swathe of simple, accessible, cheap, networked microcontrollers (see the ‘flutter’ board, punchThrough’s ‘lightBlue Bean’, Espruino Pico, Intel Edison etc) provides the opportunity to embed intelligence in wearable devices whilst allowing those devices to communicate with laptops, phones, and one another. What opportunities does this provide architects to better understand and provoke changes in human habits, natural environments, building function or urban phenomena? What are the creative possibilities afforded to us through the design of hardware as well as software behaviours and systems? The elective will depart from the traditionally ‘slow’ medium of Architecture in favour of a model of “architectural product design” The elective operates as an incubator (2.) with students working in small teams to develop their concepts and conduct device research, feasibility studies, soft and hard prototypes, scenario and use analysis and branding design. In considering the application of our designs to particular sites or ‘habitats’, we are incubating (1.) the birth of simple robotic organisms, exploring how architectural ideas can be translated to behavioural responses, communication protocol and hardware designs.
1.
an enclosed apparatus in which premature or unusually small babies are placed and which provides a controlled and protective environment for their care.
2.
a place, especially with support staff and equipment, made available at low rent to new small businesses.
Weeks 1-4: Hardware introduction _ device brainstorming/research _ introduction to programming in Processing and Arduino The elective will begin by introducing students to the Processing programming environment in the form of weekly in-class workshops. These workshops will cover fundamental programming concepts and provide the grounding for understanding and implementing extensive arduino code libraries in projects. Students will be provided with electronics equipment from week 1 in order to dive in to the development of hardware prototypes. Weeks 4-10: Bodies _ Habitats _ Behaviours Teams will develop hardware devices capable of wirelessly sensing their environment. The elective will provide support in the form of workshops for the design and development of 3d printed ‘bodies’ for these devices. Students will work on scenario and branding design of the devices, and speculate on possible rule-based behaviours. Weeks 10-12: Scenarios _ Identity Teams will document the performance of devices within selected habitats and scenarios.
What you will learn: Fundamental programming and scripting skills Computational principles of emergence, behavioural and algorithmic design Applied design skills in the design and rapid prototyping of 3d printed objects/hardware Fundamental skills to construct simple, functional electronic devices Speculative and creative computational design approaches Note: No programming or electronics knowledge is required, though students should be familiar with 3d modelling in rhino or maya and willing to work closely in teams.
Thursdays, 9:30-12:30 Design Hub (100.6.002-1) Gwyllim Jahn
ROLAND SNOOKS
STRANGE COMPOSITES
This elective will involve the design and robotic fabrication of small-scale composite prototypes. The focus of the course will be on the relationship between computational design techniques and material behavior. In particular we will be looking at how rigid and semi-rigid materials can be combined to create composite materials and how composite components join. We will be exploring the architectural implications and opportunities suggested by this material design approach - what are the strange architectural outcomes of this composite logic?
In the elective we will use the Kuka robots in addition to other CNC and digital fabrication tools. The prototypes will be constructed from materials including vacuum formed plastic, carbon fibre, fibreglass, silicon, and extruded plastic.
FRIDAY 11:30AM - 2:30PM | 100.06.002-1
ROBOTIC FABRICATION ELECTIVE
Xtra!
#3
1888
Nirvana fallacy
The nirvana fallacy is a name given to the informal fallacy of comparing actual things with unrealistic, idealized alternatives. It can also refer to the tendency to assume that there is a perfect solution to a particular problem. A closely related concept is the perfect solution fallacy. 1928
An inquiry in to planning and urban design methods and conventions that are to be revealed through various readings in to Melbourne’s Strategic Planning history. Continuing an analysis of Melbourne’s Urban Growth, students will collate data in order to put forth an argument for a particular approach towards the accommodation of an expected population growth of 3.5m people over the next 35 years.
1951
Students will then seek to describe a set of metropolitan gestures that will act as catalytic moments that activate urban amenity and facility.
1971
What is the future shape of Melbourne? Open to bachelors & masters. Vanessa Mooney | Ben Akerman Friday 9:30am-12:30pm 1996
Room 45.1.5
NORTH
2013
NORTH
2050 Y
2050 Z
truss exercises
This elective will examine the truss structural system in the context of small to medium scale architecture, focusing primarily on the use of timber or timber-steel composite structures in design. In domestic construction it is one of the core building elements that is consistently pre-fabricated. The elective will challenge students to better understand the structural and morphological principles of the truss, looking at non-standard and asymmetrical truss structures, and the truss as an inhabitable structure. We will work both through physical modelling, and digital modelling and begin to engage with digital analytical tools such as Karamba, through the Grasshopper platform. These exercises will be tested through a 6 week intensive design exercise for a 5x5m pavilion for the Sydney Sculptures by the Sea Festival. Students will be working in teams to produce a design that is both tests the limits of the material systems explored, and that is realisable using domestic construction methods. Subject to financing, one of the designs will be built and exhibited at the festival and there will be opportunities for students to follow the design through documentation and delivery. This elective requires strong computer skills in Rhino and grasshopper, a familiarity with timber frame construction, and an appetite for risk. The work load may vary depending on whether the build is funded, so please don’t apply unless you’re prepared to commit. If you have any questions please contact me on john.doyle@rmit.edu.au 6 WEEK INTENSIVE (6 hours per week) WEEK 5 - WEEK 11. FIRST CLASS MONDAY 30/3 12:30 8.11.47.
W A T E R F R O N T S WHY ARE THEY OFTEN SO AWFUL? WHAT ARE THE WORLD’S BEST WATERFRONTS? HOW CAN WE LEARN FROM THESE?
RMIT Elective : Wednesday 6:00pm with Helen Walter + Danielle Peck Students will work with a selection of case study waterfronts from Australia and around the world in the aim to analysis and discuss ‘what makes a good waterfront’? As industry continues to vacate centrally located water’s edges, and working waterfronts are made redundant, how can we meaningfully re-engage these areas beyond just tourism and housing? Students will produce a series of architectural analyses and use the catalogue of their findings to reflect on the Australian condition, specifically Melbourne’s waterfronts.
INTRICATE ASSEMBLIES: DIGITAL DESIGN & ROBOTIC FABRICATION FOR TIMBER
Intricate Assemblies is design/make research at the intersection of digital design and robotic fabrication techniques. It engages two research projects exploring potentials for timber construction througha combination of advanced technologies and traditions of material craft. Four students are sought to support these two research projects. You will have an opportunity to learn and apply parametric modelling, python scripting, robotics and CNC machine programming, all while getting hands-on experience with material. Students with either strong digital skills or strong experience in making are preferred. The results of each project will be exhibited and published.
This is a research elective in which you will work closely with RMIT researchers and key industry partners on funded research projects. Project 1: SuperCLT, designing and prototyping custom massive timber components for large scale timber construction. Partnered with Supermanoeuvre architects, Bonacci Group, and Forest and Wood Products Australia. Project 2: LaminateTorque, designing and fabricating custom freeform laminate components with robotics. Partnered with Deutsche Schule Melbourne and RMIT Design Research Institute. Research coordinator: Nicholas Williams Please email if interested: nicholas.williams@rmit.edu.au Regular contact time: Thursdays 10am - 4pm, RMIT Design Hub.
GRADUATE EXHIBITION ASSISTANTS REQUIRED The Architecture Program requires 5 enthusiastic assistants to help with the organisation of the Semester 1 2015 Major Project Exhibition. You will work closely with the Exhibition Coordinator (John Doyle) in the design and curation of the show, graphic design of posters and PR materials, as well as the organisation of sponsorship, live music and DJs, catering and all of the other things that go to make a succesful event. The majority of the work will be in the second half of semester, when we will meet weekly as a group to discuss preparations. There will be a crunch period in the week prior to the event, however you will be given VIP access the pre-opening cocktail party on the night. The team is limited to 5 people only. You will receive credit towards an elective for your time. This is not availabe through electives balloting. If you are interested please contact Exhibition Co-ordinator John Doyle directly - john.doyle@rmit.edu.au