KIT FOR A BIT: Architectural Assemblage and Leisure is part of a series of studios interested in flexible architectures that are adaptable to programmatic changes. The studio will ask students to design future-ready architectural kits that incorporate material temporalities in both ecologically responsible and culturally rich ways.

Materially, KIT FOR A BIT: Architectural Assemblage and Leisure will be looking at flexible architectures, paying particular attention to the assemblage techniques, the tectonic approaches and construction systems that make a built environment that is adaptable, reconfigurable, reprogrammable… our precedents will range from readymade building systems, to long span warehouses, to open plan buildings, to flat pack systems and other parts-thinking architectures.

Programmatically, KIT FOR A BIT: Architectural Assemblage and Leisure will focus on public recreation and exercise, looking into the relationship between our bodies and all scales of the material and digital environments in which we leisure. We will be designing spaces for physical enjoyment, whether indoor or outdoor, collectively or alone, spaces where the bodily and the architectural come together through materials, objects and social protocols.

To this end, we will be visiting gyms, sporting clubs, recreation centers, public parks, courts and fitness studios. Spaces that are designed to withstand wear and tear, sweat, friction, impact, heavy equipment or exposure to the elements, often requiring the use of durable and robust materials, making it all the more important to design them through flexible material and programmatic strategies that allow for their use and future reuse.

Architecturally then, this studio will look closely at the material intelligence and equipment required to create polyvalent spaces. In KIT FOR A BIT, we will favor assemblage, layering, modularization, long spans and open plans to design architectural kits with a disposition towards flexible programming and material reconfiguration. Given the program, a distinct design challenge will be to imbue these utilitarian kits with social appeal, body readiness and engagement.

In addition, leisure environments often combine the physical and the digital, with immersive sound systems, remote workouts, digital trainers, point-of-view track shots, obstacle course simulations or interactive technologies. The studio will dedicate a small but distinct portion of the semester to incorporating these mediums to the projects. Students enrolled in this studio will have access to the media production equipment, from greenscreen systems to XR gear, available through the faculty’s Lab.

The studio is not interested in team evangelism, in body exclusionary fitness paradigms, in gargantuan stadiums for global attraction, nor is it interested in elite performance oriented training but rather in the design of spaces and protocols for physical activity, public play, collective well-being, inclusive embodiment and just feeling good.

KIT FOR A BIT: Architectural Assemblage and Leisure will be traveling to Governors Island in New York City, per invitation from the Institute for Public Architecture (IPA) where we will be staying for 4 nights / 5 days. The IPAs Headquarters and residences are located on the Block House which is a historically landmarked building in the exceptional context of Governor’s Island. Also a historically landmarked island which is within 5 min. Ferry distance from NYC yet undeveloped. The island is a national park whose only tenants are a spa, a dance club and luxury camping ground and the only full time tenants are the guests and residents of IPA. Students will have the unique opportunity to be, in addition to the luxury campers, the only overnight residents of this protected island. Governor’s Island will also serve as the site for the studio projects this semester.

We will be meeting Tues + Thurs from 1-5pm and a few scheduled Fridays. The course welcomes SMarchs students.. Mandatory lottery process.

Interdisciplinary approach to design through studio design problems that engage the domains of building technology, computation, and the cultural/historical geographies of energy. Uses different modalities of thought to examine architectural agendas for 'sustainability'; students position their work with respect to a broader understanding of the environment and its relationship to society and technology. Students develop a project with a comprehensive approach to programmatic organization, energy load considerations, building material assemblies, exterior envelope and structure systems.

Explores the foundations of design through a series of bracketed methods of production. These methods exercise topics such as form, space, organization, structure, circulation, use, tectonics, temporality, and experience. Students develop methods of representation that span from manual to virtual and from canonical to experimental. Each method is evaluated for what it offers and privileges, supplying a survey of approaches for design exercises to follow. First in a sequence of design subjects, which must be taken in order.

Provides a practical hands-on introduction to digital fabrication, including CAD/CAM/CAE, NC machining, 3-D printing and scanning, molding and casting, composites, laser and waterjet cutting, PCB design and fabrication; sensors and actuators; mixed-signal instrumentation, embedded processing, and wired and wireless communications. Develops an understanding of these capabilities through projects using them individually and jointly to create functional systems.

Studies design as an interrogative technique to examine material sciences, media arts and technology, cultural studies, computation and emerging fabrication protocols. Provides in-depth, theoretical grounding to the notion of 'design' in architecture, and to the consideration of contemporary design methodologies, while encouraging speculation on emerging design thinking. Topical focus varies with instructor. May be repeated for credit with permission of department.

Introduction to cultures of form in architectural design, representation, and production, including material cultures, geometric discourse and analysis, Western and non-Western modes of perception and representation. Through a series of acts of forming and making, provides a primer and venue to rehearse skills such as 3D modeling and the reciprocity between representation and materialization. Exercises accompanied by lectures from practitioners, who each represent a highly articulated relationship between form and material in a body of design research or built work.

Provides an introduction to visual communication, emphasizing the development of a visual and verbal vocabulary. Presents the fundamentals of line, shape, color, composition, visual hierarchy, word/image relationships and typography as building blocks for communicating with clarity, emotion, and meaning. Students develop their ability to analyze, discuss and critique their work and the work of the designed world. 

Overview of design as the giving of form, order, and interactivity to the objects that define our daily life. Follows the path from project to interactive product. Covers the overall design process, preparing students for work in a hands-on studio learning environment. Emphasizes design development and constraints. Topics include the analysis of objects; interaction design and user experience; design methodologies, current dialogues in design; economies of scale vs. means; and the role of technology in design. Provides a foundation in prototyping skills such as carpentry, casting, digital fabrication, electronics, and coding.

Provides instruction in architectural design and project development within design constraints including architectural program and site. Students engage the design process through various 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional media. Working directly with representational and model making techniques, students gain experience in the conceptual, formal, spatial and material aspects of architecture. Instruction and practice in oral and written communication provided.