Unbuilt projects and competitions. Years ago, when I had the occasion to teach in Venice, Italy, I became aware of the famous 18th century vedute (view paintings) and capricci (imaginary view paintings); specifically those of Italian painters Guardi and Canaletto.
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At the age of five I moved to Vienna, Austria—the heart of the Austro-Hungarian political, economic, and cultural Empire—and ever since then, I have been fascinated by urban environments. Simply stated, the bigger the better, although that doesn’t capture the complexities that I have come to enjoy when living in or visiting metropolises around the world.
Questions of Pedagogy, Part 5. My early years teaching architecture focused on imparting students with a design process; a methodology that would provide my second-year students with solid conceptual thinking. This approach was inspired by my own experience of Raimund Abraham’s teaching. Now that I was becoming an educator, many of my studio briefs espoused design strategies that existed outside of conventional notions of function (Question of Pedagogy. Part 2). In particular, I favored one where site conditions became a leitmotif to engage design thinking (Question of Pedagogy. Part 3).
First steps in a student’s design process. As I matured as an architecture student, I didn’t lack ideas in response to design studio prompts. Ideas seemed to come naturally to me and were triggered by the process in which I was trained to think of a thesis, a program, or a BIG idea (owning a theoretical position on the act of projecting). I believed my métier was in making architecture through the act of building, especially that in Switzerland a culture of construction is integral to design. Most often, this process used functional requirements and explored my interest in an organization of spatial narratives. Retrospectively, this attitude was predictably based in relationships to human occupations (functions).
I am of the opinion that roasted chickens (also called rotisserie chickens) found in most grocery stores are excellent, flavorful, and rather inexpensive. Despite this, I understand that there is a desire to want to roast one’s own chicken and many other dishes (i.e. “making restaurant-quality waffles, pizza and bagels with the single touch of a button”)—especially after this year’s seasonal holiday promotion of Air Fryer Ovens. Continue reading How to use a roast chicken five ways
Prior to talking about Raimund Abraham, let me set the context. During my year abroad at the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies (I.A.U.S) in New York City—an inspirational time studying under Diana Agrest, Peter Eisenman, Mario Gandelsonas, George Ranalli, and Anthony Vidler—the city became a natural extension of my academic interests and, of course, a palimpsest to discover and experience first-hand what it meant to be at the center of the world. During the 1980s, the Big Apple was a city in deep transition, and living there was nothing less than crazy, particularly relative to the tameness of my home country Switzerland.
Robert Slutzky. Prior to introducing Robert Slutzky, let me set the context. In my second year at the EPFL, the idea of learning architecture through precedents filtered from the appreciation of vernacular buildings to an immersion with visiting guest professors.
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Valuing your mentors. Prior to talk about my admiration for the EPFL, let me set the background. When studying the discipline of one’s choice, one encounters figures that have a direct and indelible impact on who one is to become. During my studies, I was fortunate to have encountered many talented faculty who imparted their knowledge with generosity and commitment.
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Ever since the Grand Tour, architecture students have explored buildings in situ through formal and informal learning opportunities outside of the traditional campus setting. Whether semester long international travel programs or short design studio field trips, faculty recognize these experiences as vital curricular moments that add meaning to a student’s education, especially when sketching is part of the act of observing. Beyond the pleasure and exoticism of travel, whether to nearby or distant places, learning first hand from buildings remains rewarding and memorable. It is a moment when many senses come into play, and most importantly, brings forth intense visuals that offer students a way to confront their academic understanding of a building with their on-site experience of it.
An architecture project. The education of an architect is primarily centered around a design studio with an architecture program describing the nature of a design proposition. This prompt, which is also called a brief, is usually open ended and offers basic directives on the nature of the problem to solve. The overall freedom offered by briefs, allows students to design a project by incorporating thoughts pulled from sources within and from outside of architecture.
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