Studio BA4 (Verschuere)

ON ARCHITECTURE

The studio is conceived as a double investigation into the archetypical elements of architecture and into the challenges of our present age. By imbricating the contemporary and the fundamental a framework is set up, in which a critical reflection on what architecture might be today, can take shape. Research is envisaged as a project and the project is envisaged as research, therefore establishing a critical viewpoint is regarded as the primary act of building an architectural proposal. Stemming from the overarching approach of Vitruvius's Ten Books, the studio addresses a different theme each academic year. After Performative Objects in 19/20 and Elements of Climate in 20/21, in 21/22 the theme of Umwelt will be dealt with. This term designates a concept, originating in the early 20th century biology of von Uexküll, that abandons a unitary perceptual world in favor of many radically different environments, constituted by the living beings that inhabit them. Considering architecture through this perspective will be the principal challenge of this year's studio.

AUTUMN SEMESTER

The first semester will be devoted to the study of the architecture as a material assembly that is traversed by energy flows. Analysis of embodied energy is accompanied by investigations into the climatic performativity of various examples. Visible and invisible forms of energy will be traced and represented. Organized in a series of exercises that fuse study and design the progressive construction of an architectural language through drawings, models, and images will be undertaken. The work will take place in groups of two to five people in changing compositions. It will be presented as a collective display each week, punctuated by an intermediate review in week 7 and a final review in week 14.

SPRING SEMESTER

The work of the second semester will be based on the knowledge developed during the first semester, according to the contingencies linked to a site and a program an architectural project will be elaborated. It will be constituted essentially by engaging in a given built structure, which will have to be reinterpreted and adapted. The tools and methods will be close to those used during the first semester. The work will take place in groups. It will be presented as a collective display every two weeks and will be punctuated by an intermediate review in week 7 and a final review in week 14.