ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN - STUDIO II (LAB A)
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2019/2020
- Teacher
- GIANLUCA FREDIANI
- Credits
- 11
- Didactic period
- Secondo Semestre
Training objectives
- After having accomplished the opening experience of the first year, the Architectural Design Laboratory 2 is a further step toward the complexity of the architectural design. The aim of the course is to professionalize students with theories and technics for designing in urban site characterized by an average level of functional complexity.
The knowledge to be acquired is related to the following topics:
- principles of morphological and spatial analysis of the urban environment;
- analysis of the typological and historical-evolutionary characters of urban context;
- analysis of conbstituent elements for architectural and urban spaces;
- foundations of architectural composition;
- analysis and critical evaluation of compositional models related to the contemporary cultural debate.
In addition, the student will have to learn to:
- understand the essential requirements for the correct realization of one's own design idea through conscious technical choices;
- understand the construction stages of the construction, in relation to the context, comfortable use by users (even with specific needs), its implementation and management;
- analyze the performance and needs relating to materials and construction techniques, acquiring the method and ability to choose the most suitable and sustainable ones;
- develop technological, dimensional and material choices of the project that comply with the rule of art and the main regulatory provisions.
The skills - intended as an application of the knowledge acquired - to be developed within the course, are relatet to the following points:
- analysis of the urban fabric and development of settlement principles;
- ability to integrate and compare elements, materials and artefacts of the historical-environmental architectural heritage;
- ability to outline architectural structures of medium complexity, coordinating theoretical and practical contributions;
- anlysis and evaluation of project constraints;
- consistent application of distribution and construction elements;
- correct relationship between architectural and contextual choices and material and technological ones;
- definition of the technical aspects characteristic of one's own project and knowing how to describe them through a technical drawing, in an adequate scale, enhancing the choices made in terms of materials and technologies. Prerequisites
- To attend the Laboratory the student must have passed the following exames:
- Architectural Drawing
- Architectural Design Laboratory 1
More generally, the students will demonstrate to be able to understand and describe forms in space, using the basic knowledge of building models and the graphic representation techniques in a correct way, both by hand and computer. Course programme
- The course is 132 hours long for 11 credits, organized on three coordinated courses (A-B-C), formed of a main teaching and two specialized modules:
Architectural composition (84 hours - 7 credits), main teaching.
Interior Design (24 hours - 2 credits), unique module.
Materials and design of structural elements (24 hours - 2 credits), specialized module.
The course explores scientific issues related to the relationship between the architectural project and the city. The teaching activity takes place in the complete development of an architectural project, understood in the essential elements of its complexity. In particular, the teaching of Architectural Composition addresses the basic features of Design Theory, deepening positions and examples related to the contemporary debate. Inside, the main design seminars take place. The Interior Design course focuses on the material and perceptive qualities of the built space, relating it to the external landscape, both natural and urban. The Materials and design of construction elements module deepens the relationship between architectural form and consistency in the choice of construction techniques and materials, with particular relevance to user needs, specific technical regulations and the preparation of executive drawings that fully represent and effectively the choices made by the student.
During the lessons and the design reviews, the following topics will be discussed:
- methods of composition of shapes and volumes
- materials of architecture: light, colors, textures
- building for the city: the places and the concept of place
- memory and invention: the connection with the tradition
- morphological structures of the historical city: phases and changes
- density and contamination: basics of building typology
- functional diagrams and distribution
- architecture and representation: cladding and casing
- basic models of structures and technical elements
- the contemporary debate on architecture and the city: examples, opinions and interpretations;
- comparison between technological choices and environmental parameters;
- definition of construction choices for the building envelope;
- relationship between user comfort and functional needs and technical choices;
- technical elements characteristic of the spaces and services defined by the project.
Students are supposed to produce pictures and drawings in the appropriate scale, representing architectural concepts and relations set up with the city and the environment, developing the main elements up to technical details. Drawing is not the only required activity: the project is a complex intellectual exercise that involves knowledge, tools and skills that students are expected to have assimilated, but also to be able to raise them and use in a conscious way. Didactic methods
- The didactic works within the laboratory are organized through:
- lectures
- review and seminar presentations
- exercises ex-tempore
The development of the projects is constantly followed by the teachers through reviews and meetings. The course includes some midterm critics through the presentation of the projects and their collective discussion. The design activities are carried out individually or in groups, with different workloads. Working in groups enhance the social and interpersonal skills of the students, while sharpening their attitudes to the discussion.
Participation in any outdoor activities (visits to building sites or buildings, surveys etc.) is suggested but not mandatory. Learning assessment procedures
The final exam test serves to verify the achievement of a sufficient level of knowledge and skills, as described in the training objectives.
To pass the exam, the student must prepare a complete set of documents to be discussed with the commission: the architectural project, described with graphic tables; a theoretical-design relationship; a technological elaboration on the executive scale; the elaborate accessories, to trace the development of the didactic path.
The exam is prepared through a series of reviews by all the teachers involved in the laboratory, during which the work is examined, discussed and evaluated. Each revision is assigned a simplified vote (A-B-C) of an indicative nature.
About halfway through the course, an intermediate collective Presentation takes place, with seminar discussion of the individual projects by the teachers of the Architectural Composition Module, accompanied by a vote on a 30simal basis, with a minimum of 18 useful marks. This vote is an integral part of the final result.
The final verification of the work done is carried out in the examination commission, orally discussing all the decisions taken and the positions taken in the development of the project, in light of the materials produced. In the judgment on the project, the strategies adopted, the architectural quality and the constructive coherence of the designed product are checked, both at the urban scale and at the congruence between architectural and technological choices. The final mark derives from the average between the intermediate check mark and the final discussion mark.Reference texts
- Holl S., Parallax, Birkhäuser, Basel, 2000.
Quaroni L., Progettare un edificio, Mazzotta, Milan, 1977.
Ponti G., Amate l'Architettura, Vitali Ghianda, Genua, 1957.
