Project 01 – Architecturally Significant Houses: Dwelling Across Time

Architecture should speak of its time and place, but yearn for timelessness.  - Frank Gehry
For this project, students will be developing a set of architectural drawings and construction documents for a historically significant house.  Students will research and analyze the work of the house’s architect as well as the design characteristics of the house itself.  With this understanding, they will create a comprehensive set of drawings from which the house could be built.  This process will require in-depth research, detailed inquiry, and the development of reasonable interpretations.

For students exploring architecture, this project will provide an overview of many different aspects of the profession.  We will have the opportunity to explore history, design theory and technique, as well as the various technologies and materials that make architecture possible.

Houses used for this exercise will come from a preselected list of homes that:
  • are significant in the history of architecture
  • reflect the thinking, beliefs, and technologies of their time
  • were created by architects who have made or continue to make significant contributions to our built environment

Project 02 - The Camping Hut: Dwelling in the Wilderness

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. – John Muir
This project is based on the design of micro-architecture that functions at the XS (eXtra Small) scale. Students will be creating a permanent camping structure for a remote site.  This dwelling will exist as a hybrid structure of house and tent.  Designs will provide a sense of permanent shelter while maintaining a raw, direct, physical and emotional connection to the landscape.  Students will be designing as their own client, so the building should reflect their interests, habits, body-type, and other individual characteristics.

The site for this project is remote – a wilderness area accessible only by foot, horseback, mountain bike, or other non-motorized means.  Because the site is remote, there are no utilities available.  The design of the structure and the utilization of environmental characteristics will be the means by which students are able to live comfortably with the land.