Architectural Design Crossovers Studio

MSc2 "Intersections" studio considers experimenting as a central axis of architectural design investigation with a multidisciplinary and intescalar approach within different geographical and territorial contexts. Sharing the same etymological origin with the words experience and expert, the term experiment defines the investigative yet formative characteristics of architectural design process. By geographical displacement, biennales and international workshops, Architectural Design Crossovers MSc2 studio will provide a central theme to be renewed every semester.

The studio couples experiencing and experimenting within different geographical and territorial contexts to help the students form expertise along their research and design interests. Therefore, the studio engages in critical design practices and their theoretical and historical foundations with emphasis on process-based design inquiries. The studio guides the students to apply research-oriented critical approaches to analyse and reflect upon design actions, positions, methods and outputs which lead to site-specific interventions across spatial and temporal scales.

Due to the nature of the course, international collaboration and workshops and participation at architectural events are integral to the studio. A relatively long educational excursion (5-7 days) with on-site workshops is part of the studio program. The corresponding information is to be communicated at the introductory meetings and via Brightspace.

The assessment takes into consideration not only the quality of the design work but also the process and the development of appropriate design instruments for investigative and critical design research to be undertaken by the students.

The consistency in the ideation, projection and materialisation process is an integral component of the final evaluation.

The collective documentation of the fieldwork, investigations and the results will be compiled in the form of a portfolio and book to be presented as part of the final exhibition.

More specifically, the assessment criteria for individual work are:

- the critical design position formulated by the student addressing the studio theme;

- elaboration of the project throughout the respective scales addressed;

- the consistency of the design process, the outcome and awareness of it;

- the detail and quality of the architectural project combining the research and the contextual data;

- the fitness (relevance and significance) of the project with respect to the assignment;

- the coherence and quality of the architectural position/argument, presentation, and the products.

Mid-term (week 4.4-4.5) and final review (week 4.10).

The actual review weeks may be subject to change in accordance with the academic calendar.

On the scale of 10, the student achieves a sufficient result with the final grade of 6; If failed in the first attempt student are offered the possibility of a repair. The repair has to be completed within 2 weeks after the completion of the course and will be graded by either O (fail) or V (pass).