THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE
YEAR 2 ARCHITECTURE DESIGN STUDIO A HOUSE, A HOME STUDIO SU CHANG
STUDIO FOLIO FALL 2019
This studio revisits modernism and its legacy as our shared tradition. In particular, this studio is devoted to looking at the houses by Le Corbusier. Architect, urbanist, painter, graphic designer, writer, sculptor and political advocates, polemicist and mystic, Le Corbusier was a figure of many roles. Amid all these guises concealed a simple yet unanswered question: who is Le Corbusier? We attempt to respond to this question through a series of exercises: firstly through an analysis of modernist architectural works, followed by design exercises which propose to renovate the house in response to some of the most urgent and pressing issues we face today. Beyond the skills and knowledge required for these projects, the studio is a contemplation on the role of the architect in society – our social contract. On one hand, we are tasked to rigorously analyze the house, dissect the house and frame architectural arguments strictly through the language of architecture itself (plans, sections, models, details, construction). On the other hand, a series of seminars is organized to explore the house from cultural, philosophical, social perspectives. Studio Instructors: John Lin, Roberto Requejo, Eva Herunter, Nikolas Ettel, Su Chang, Lidia Ratoi Assistant: Yi Sun
MODERN TRADITION
Exercise 1 - House Dissection The studio visits five canonical houses of Le Corbusier: Maison La Roche (1923-25), Villa Savoye (1928), Villa Baizeau (1928), Maison Curutchet (1949), and Villa Shodhan (1951). Through drawing and modelling exercises, each pair of students analyse the house by dissecting it at four scales to address different disciplinary issues. By redrawing and remodelling the house, the project intends to reconstruct a new spatial narrative about Le Corbusier’s houses and to reveal the hidden design techniques of the architect.
Exercise 2 - Climate House We imagine how modern architecture could be adapted in reponse to the changing climate by temporarily suspending the climatic conditions of where the houses are located and replacing them with the climate of Hong Kong. Students renovate the house in relationship to its new environment.
Exercise 3 - Population House The demand for domestic space has changed drastically in the past decades. In response to the demands of migration and population increases, students propose renovation strategies and adapt the house for multiple families. Issues of public and private, individual and community are debated.
STUDENT WORK
ROCHA BLANDON FRANCYS ADRIANA / LEUNG MING HA MARIANA
MAISION LA ROCHE PARIS, FRANCE, 1923–1925
Plan 1/100 2F
Model 1/100 massing
Section 1/50
through the central arium
Model 1/50
rear walls peel-away
Partial Plan 1/20 master suite
Partial Model 1/20 atirum and stairs
Section 1/5
ramp and bookshelves
Model 1/5
ramp and bookshelves
Section 1/50
the question of roof and its pitches
Project / Climate House
Model 1/20
climatic factor: water / rain
Plan 1/50
inside and outside / private and shared
Project / Population House
Model 1/50
population factor: the host and the guests
collage as iterations
HUI SUM YUEN KERRY / MA HOI YONG JOEY
VILLA SAVOYE PARIS, FRANCE, 1927
Plan 1/100 2F
Model 1/100 massing
Section 1/50
the sectional cascade
Model 1/50
“diagonal delineation of inside and outside“
Plan 1/20
circulation
Model 1/20
ramp in-between
Section 1/5 skylight
Model 1/5
arrive/depart
Section 1/50 the cascade
Project / Climate House
Model 1/20
climatic factor: sunlight and shading
Plan 1/100
“sub-divided units”
Project / Population House
Model 1/100 massing
design sketches
DAI YUCHEN YVETTE / GUO YUHUI FIONA
VILLA BAIZEAU TUNISIA, 1928
Plan 1/100 2F
Model 1/100 massing
Plan 1/50
sectional interlock
Model 1/50
cut-away model to reveal the scissor staircase
Plan 1/20
public/private divide
Model 1/20
double-height living room
Plan 1/20 balcony
Model 1/5 balcony
Plan 1/50
Project / Climate House
Model 1/50
climatic factor: humidity and ventilation
Plan 1/100
flipped floor plan
Project / Population House
Model 1/20
three-dimensional interlock
plan-to-section iterations
CHEUNG CHEUK LAM CATHY / WONG HO CHUN JEFFREY
MAISION CURUCHET LA PLATA, ARGENTINA, 1949
Plan 1/100 2F
Model 1/100 massing
Section 1/50
Model 1/50
Plan 1/20
layered periphery
Model 1/20
courtyard model
Plan 1/5
Brise soleil
Model 1/5
Brise soleil
Plan 1/100
Project / Climate House
Model 1/5
Brise soleil
Plan 1/100
Project / Population House
Model 1/50
design sketches
CHANG LING FUNG BRIAN / JANG JUNHO / YUEN WING TUNG ATHENA
VILLA SHODHAN AHMEDABAD, INDIA, 1951-56
Plan 1/100 2F
Model 1/100 massing
Section 1/50
Model 1/50
Plan 1/20
Model 1/20
Section 1/5
Model 1/5
Section 1/50
Project / Climate House
Model 1/20
climatic factor: water/rain
Section 1/50
Project / Population House
Model 1/50
stair house + ramp house
sketch models
This lecture introduces students to the multiple persona of the Swiss-French architect Le Cobusier. By presenting in parallel the life and work of the architect, the lecture lays out the background of the work assigned to the students for analysis.
SUPPLEMENT 1: STUDIO LECTURE
FIVE PORTRAITS OF LE CORBUSIER: ORIGIN, SELF, TYPE
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This lecture presents case study of courtyard houses as climatic strategies to connect the manmade with nature. Often configured into various forms of voides at different positions of the house, the courtyard could be conceived as house invisible, which is intrinsic to the quality of living in the house.
SUPPLEMENT 2: STUDIO LECTURE
HOUSE INVISIBLE
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REFERENCES - TEXT Ando, Tadao. Le Corbusier: Houses. Tokyo: Toto, 2001. Frampton, Kenneth. Le Corbusier. London: Thames & Hudson, 2001. Le Corbusier. “Architecture or Revolution?“ in Toward an Architecture. Getty Publications, 2007. On Drawing Ferraz, Marcelo. On Architectural Drawing: Lina Bo Bardi and Beyond. March 2017 https://www.drawingmatter.org/writing-and-media/architectural-drawing-lina-bo-bardi-and-beyond/ On Model Maltzan, Michael. “Architecture as craft: After Narrative, Before Memisis”. Architecture As Craft, Michiel Riedijk (Ed.), SUN architecture, 2011 https://www.mmaltzan.com/essays/essay-notes-on-architecture-as-craft-after-narrative-beyondmimesis/ On Section Shu, Wang. “剖面的視野 (The Perspectives of Section)”. Times+Architecture, February 2010. http://wen.org.cn/modules/article/view.article.php/2519 On Bullshit Frankfurt, Harry G. On Bullshit. Princeton, NJ.: Princeton University Press, 2005. https://www5.csudh.edu/ccauthen/576f12/frankfurt__harry_-_ on_bullshit.pdf