Situating Architecture

Well situated buildings are evidence of architectural knowledge and skills. They address the intricate complexities of the site and anticipate sustainable future developments.

In a series of thematic modules, you will analyse and imagine different (e.g. material, perceptual, cultural) layers of a given context through concrete design tasks, leading to the individual design of a complete and well-situated architectural project.

Through a series of workshops that use different methods to study contextual layers, and through intense design practice, you will train in the use of analytical and projective methods required to develop architectural designs. Your projects should be sensibly inscribed within a particular context, understood as an entanglement of natural and cultural variables.

The course will be integrated with the AR1A080 Building Engineering Studio.

The three design studios offered by the chair of Methods of Analysis and Imagination form future architects with the skills and knowledge required to: (a) inscribe architectural designs within concrete sites and situations (MSc1, Situating Architecture), (b) collaborate with others productively in the development of architectural designs (MSc2, Designing with Others), and (c) scale fully developed architectural designs meticulously and insightfully in relation to human proportions (MSc3/4, A Matter of Scale).

Well situated, co-created, human-scaled architectures result from the thorough and creative analysis and imagination of possible futures for particular architectural contexts. In the three courses analysis and imagination are fully integrated in practice through the proficient and explorative use of instruments and methods of the architectural discipline and other related professions.

Student work may be used for educational purposes, and students must self-notify the coordinator/ lecturer of the course if they do not wish to give permission to do so.

The analyses and designs produced in the first part of the studio are subject to individual progress reviews (formative assessments, not graded), which make clear to what degree you have fulfilled the learning objectives developed so far, and allow you to decide which of your designs to develop further.

The four final outcomes (research booklet, design booklet, presentation, and the logbook) are assessed and graded individually, using the aspects and criteria determined in the grading rubric specifically developed for this course. The grading rubric is based on the EMMA feedback and assessment tool, adjusted for the MSc1 level.

The design project is awarded a grade that is a whole or half number between 1.0 and 10.0. Students pass the course with a 6.0 or higher. With a grade below 6.0: students who presented assessable work during the course are allowed to do a repair to change the grade into a ‘pass’. The repair is unsupervised and needs to be completed within 2 weeks after the end of the course. When the repair is unsuccessful, the student needs to follow the entire course again.