American University of Sharjah, UAE
College of Art, Architecture + Design
Shaima Rizvi | Play
Live | Work | Play was a second year intermediate design studio, which was broken down into a series of 3 intensive projects incrementally increasing in scale and complexity. With a strong focus on experimentation, diagramming, tectonics, and analytical thinking, students began each project from an abstract analytical point of departure. These would include text, biological analysis, and controlled experimentation; the purpose being to highlight the vast array of avenues from which an architectural project may emerge. With an average project duration of 4 weeks, students worked within a process of abstract and programmatic analysis, tectonic exploration, and design development. The projects were outlined as follows;
Select Student Work
Live: Home Truths
Shaima Rizvi
Brief:
Recently, the design of domestic space has shifted in significant ways reflecting the changing structure of the family based on new attitudes towards identity, coexistence and privacy, as well as a nascent integration of technology. The definition of ‘home’ today must consider how these new values come up against the familiar, how our needs are served as well as what makes us comfortable. The living unit must fit within a narrow plot wedged between two existing buildings. The actual area of the plot is 60 m2 (5mx12m]. The site is located in a residential neighborhood and is adjacent to the street on one side, and a canal bound the other side of the plot.
Process:
1. Students will be assigned a manifesto on architecture. (Readings included: Diagrams, Ben Van Berkel, Caroline Bos | Versioning, SHoP |The Manhattan Transcripts, Bernard Tschumi | amongst others)
2. Analyze the manifesto. Flesh out the core concepts and ideas of the statements, with both visual + textual information, and begin to formulate your own ‘manifesto’ for domestic architecture.
3. You will use this text as a generator to develop graphic diagrams. You are not to make literal translations of the textual information, take liberties, make assumptions, abstractions, inventions. You are encouraged to use a wide range of techniques while developing these diagrams (i.e. vector drawing, collage, 3-D diagramming, graphing data, etc, and strongly consider mixing these techniques)
4. These diagrams will undergo a series of tectonic translations + transformations, through model making, to begin developing space and form. To reiterate, you are not to make literal translations of the diagrammatic information, take liberties, make assumptions, abstractions, inventions. I encourage you to use a wide range of model making techniques for tectonic development (i.e. foam models, casting, paper, sewing, etc.)
5. Students will develop the sophistication of their proposals through an iterative process. Plans, sections, elevations, and diagrams will continuously be refined and developed to communicate the concepts and performance of the proposals.
Work: OFFICEspace
James Moussa
Brief:
The nature and environment of work is constantly evolving. New technology, business structures and family obligations have created a new hybrid work environment that folds aspects of work, home and leisure activities into a single productive environment. New technology has allowed work to follow us home and home to follow us to work. Because individuals are spending more time at the office, the office must be designed to allow a much greater depth of activities, some of which are not traditionally part of the work environment. The working space must fit within an open relatively flat suburban plot facing a street. The actual area of the plot is 800 m2 (20mx40m]. The site is located in a light commercial/residential neighborhood. There is a 3m setback on the sides of the property with a 10m setback from the street and a 5m setback at the rear of the property. Design solutions may not exceed a maximum of 2 stories.
Note: To further push the changing dynamics in the work environment, all students were to develop an office space for a sector of the google organization; One whose oragnizational policies are a-typical to that of tradition office models.
Process:
1. Students will be assigned a biological skin to study.
2. Analyze the skin system. Extract the core properties and behaviors of the skin, with both graphic + textual information, and begin to diagram the relationships between the unit and the field.
3. You will use this analysis to develop a physical adaptive structural model. You are not to make literal translations of the diagrammatic information, take liberties, make assumptions, abstractions, inventions. You are encouraged to use a wide range of materials while developing these models (i.e. vinyl, plastic, elastic materials, neoprene, etc, and strongly consider mixing these techniques)
4. These models will undergo a series of diagrammatic and tectonic translations + transformations, through continuous model making and drawing. The iterative process will yield an adaptive office organization.
5. You will develop the sophistication of your proposal through an iterative process. Plans, sections, elevations, diagrams, and models will continuously be refined and developed to communicate the concepts and performance of your proposal.
Play: Flux Cycle
Hiba Al Safi
Brief:
Motion is an action much like that of breathing, omnipresent yet latent in the conscious experience of everyday life. The Velodrome is a space where motion comes to the forefront of the architectural experience. The visual experience of tracking a bicycle through the turns and straights of a track, to the physical experience of cycling at varying speeds through subtly varying elevations become essential considerations in design. Motion, play, and sport become tools for the development of a communal experience and space, in this case the Velodrome/Community Center. The Velodrome will be sited on a corner lot on a sloping waterfront terrain. The area of the plot is 2000 m2 (40mx50m]. The site is located in a maritime commercial/residential neighborhood with a marina. There is a 5m setback at the street corner of the plot.
Students must consider, and are encouraged to redefine, the form of the cycling track, as this will have an imminent impact on the design. The Velodrome must address conditions of site access and exterior public space, and is not to exceed 3 stories.
Process:
1. Students will conduct a controlled experiment pertaining to fluid dynamics. Each student is to set up a container 10cm x 10cm, and conduct interaction experiments between two wax components.
2. Analyze the results of the experiment. Cutting the resulting models(physically) and redrawing the newly formed cross sections. Extract the core properties and behaviors of the results, with both graphic + textual information, and begin to diagram the relationships discovered. Students are required to produce 1 ‘flux’ model from the conducted experiment.
3. Students will use this analysis to develop a logic for developing the track design of the Velodrome. Students are not to make literal translations of the diagrammatic information, take liberties.
4. These models and diagrams will undergo a series of diagrammatic and tectonic translations + transformations, through continuous model making and drawing. This method will yield a strongly process driven proposal.
5. Students will develop the sophistication of their proposals through an iterative process. Plans, sections, elevations, diagrams, and models will continuously be refined and developed to communicate the concepts and performance of your proposal.
Michael Caton, RA, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, CDTP