COURSE DESCRIPTION FOR THE AY 2026-2027
“The distinguishing feature of great beauty is that first it should surprise to an indifferent degree, which, continuing and then augmenting, is finally changed to wonder and admiration.
”Montesquieu
18the century French judge, intellectual, historian, and political philosopher
“Teaching forces me to engage in a critical dialogue with somebody else, and find a level of objectivity that allows me to have a fair critical argument. My role as a teacher is simply to clarify, although that’s a bit simplistic. When I give a problem to the students, it’s my problem; I am trying to anticipate how I could solve that problem. And my joy is when the students come up with a solution I haven’t thought of.”
Raimund Abraham
Between dream and reality, an aesthetic experience of daily life…
Both above quotes are extremely relevatn . How the student learns and how the faculty interacts with their students…
The ambition of the design studio will focus on a series of open-ended questions surrounding the “design of space” and “the setting in space of ideas” within the discipline of architecture. As both individuals and as a collective group, we will explore how ideas, concepts, and themes can help conceive architectural spaces and places. Most importantly we will focus on how to give them physicality, which has been one of the most important ways to legitimize our role as leaders within the built environment.
During these two semesters, we will embark on studying the discipline of architecture as a process that involves an acute sense of creativity both at the intuitive and rational levels of design. Hence, the education of an architect will be framed as part of a larger series of questions surrounding concepts pertaining to the body of history and theory, abstract and real context, structure and construction, art and urbanism from which key design strategies can be extracted, understood and redirected toward the creation of your own work.
Your second-year design experience constitutes the basis for introducing the fundamentals of architecture, a journey that will balance tradition and innovation, theory and pragmatics, design and construction. A number of suggested design projects and punctual charrettes will test your creative energy.
“Your teaching has had a profound impact on me not just in the studio, but outside as well. Through your instruction, I’ve learned to push the boundaries of design, to think critically about what makes something work, and to question what is conventional in order to discover what’s possible. You’ve helped me understand how to present and sell my ideas, and more importantly, how to believe in them. I felt like I was doing something that I truly loved and not some random assignment that someone had just assigned me.”
2024-2025 Design studio student
Fall 2025: tentative projects
This fall will offer an approach in learning about representation, conceptualizing, and PROCESS. This will be conducted through an increased number of charettes and quick project leading to the final fall project.
- How do you see and express yourself? The drawing and understanding of SPACE,:Morandi and cubist exercises
- How do you see and understand? A question of context and light as design PROGRAM
- How to you see and interpret? A question of structure: gas station pavillion
- How do you see and design? A cafe on campus which incorporates all above topics.
Spring 2026: tentative project
2026 final loft project by Allison Smith
How do you see the past and present? Two projects. The first one is TBD and is short, and the second one is the more robust urban loft renovation (urban design); interspersed by multiple charette interludes. The final project (urban loft renovation) will be presented in large format as a presentation board that are up to the choice of the students to be digital or analog. Digitals examples are below.