CRÆFT
Against a rising tide of automation and increasing digital complexity, we are becoming further divorced from the very thing that defines us: we are makers, crafters of things.
--Alexander Langlands
Cræft: An activity involving EXPERT skill in making FUNCTIONAL OBJECTS by hand.
“But even in today’s versatile use of the word craft there is only the faintest overlap with the definition cræft had when it first appeared in written English over a thousand years ago. The Oxford English Dictionary can find no one word to exchange, like for like, for Old English cræft, and instead offers an amalgam of ‘knowledge, power, skill’, and an extended definition where a sense of ‘wisdom’ and ‘resourcefulness’ surpass in importance the notion of ‘physical skill’.” – Alexander Langlands
“But even in today’s versatile use of the word craft there is only the faintest overlap with the definition cræft had when it first appeared in written English over a thousand years ago. The Oxford English Dictionary can find no one word to exchange, like for like, for Old English cræft, and instead offers an amalgam of ‘knowledge, power, skill’, and an extended definition where a sense of ‘wisdom’ and ‘resourcefulness’ surpass in importance the notion of ‘physical skill’.” – Alexander Langlands
Overview
This semester, we will explore the concept of cræft (craft) and its relationship to the creation of architecture. Through an understanding of cræft’s history and evolution, we will develop the knowledge and skills to creatively and critically apply and express cræft in our work. We will demonstrate our understanding of this topic through the development of meaningful and engaging public architecture. Our goal is to design interventions within physical and intellectual environments that express, educate, and redefine concepts of cræft.
Humanity has long-standing traditions of cræft, but those traditions are now under threat from technological evolution and a continuously disconnecting digital culture. The act of creation, once the application of learned skill with the hands, is now reduced to a series of mouse clicks to activate an algorithm. The semester projects will allow students to explore cræft’s history within culture and architecture, as well as speculate about cræft’s role in our future. Our goals focus on creating an architecture that works to re-engage individuals and communities with the tactile, the physical, and the useful; celebrating the traditions of cræft while charting a course for new and relevant frontiers where the handmade and the digital co-exist in a symbiosis of creativity and productivity.
Humanity has long-standing traditions of cræft, but those traditions are now under threat from technological evolution and a continuously disconnecting digital culture. The act of creation, once the application of learned skill with the hands, is now reduced to a series of mouse clicks to activate an algorithm. The semester projects will allow students to explore cræft’s history within culture and architecture, as well as speculate about cræft’s role in our future. Our goals focus on creating an architecture that works to re-engage individuals and communities with the tactile, the physical, and the useful; celebrating the traditions of cræft while charting a course for new and relevant frontiers where the handmade and the digital co-exist in a symbiosis of creativity and productivity.
Proposed Projects
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Wunderkammer
To begin an exploration of cræft, students will create a Wunderkammer that reflects a specific cræft. The resulting design will be a hybrid of the traditional Wunderkammer and a modern workshop. This project will provide specific insights into the links between cræft, space, and form with information and experience that shapes work for the remainder of the semester. A unique characteristic of this project will be the process of creating architecture from the inside out. From a detailed understanding of a specific cræft, students will develop a space in which that cræft can successfully function. The space created from this process will then generate an architectural form. |
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Cræft College
Students across all studios will collectively develop a campus for a contemporary cræft college. The project intent is to house a community of cræftsmen on site, all of varying skill level (apprentice to master cræftsman). The goal of the college is providing opportunities for individuals to learn a traditional cræft and develop skills to apply toward a career. The college will provide on-site housing, individual and collaborative working spaces, as well as spaces for positive interaction with the surrounding community. Work for this project will occur across two phases: site master plan and building design. Practicum students are responsible for the design and development of the campus master plan that accommodates space for all studio projects. Campus buildings will be designed by the different studios as follows: Dean's Residence (Old Alton Bridge) - First Year Studio Faculty and Student Housing - Second Year Studio Academic (Cræft) Buildings - Practicum Studio An undeveloped property along Hickory Creek in Denton County serves as the project site. The historic Old Alton Bridge and the Old Alton Bridge Trail are existing features within the development. The bridge structure will become a required architectural element within the college master plan, serving as the college Dean's place of residence. With the presence of Old Alton Bridge, the project site takes on historical significance. Students will investigate and consider the impact and traces of the past as an influence on the current project. |
