course syllabus

barry onouye endowed chair design studio
Paolo Desideri, ABDR Architetti Associati / Professor, «Roma Tre» campus, University of Rome

time and location: 1:30-5:30 pm - m/w/f - architecture hall, room 260B
instructors: paolo desideri - paolo.desideri@abdr.it
                  brian mclaren - bmclaren@uw.edu
assistants: claudia pagani - claudia.pagani@abdr.it
                  gijs pyckevet - gijs.pyckevet@abdr.it

This Arch 502 design studio will concentrate on the design of a piece of urban infrastructure in the downtown waterfront of Seattle. While infrastructure is often thought of as having a merely practical and supportive role in the functioning of a city, this studio will propose that infrastructure can be a powerful element that promotes movement, activity and interaction. In exploring the idea of infrastructure, it will follow in the tradition of past Onouye Chair studios in engaging students in a collaborative design process that focuses on the integration of structure as a generative component within the broader context of the formal solution of the design. Rather than seeing structure as providing only physical support to architecture these studios view it as a central factor in the development of the form of architecture—that is, its morphology.

The exploration of morphology and architecture, both at an urban and architectural scale, has been a constant theme in Italian architecture since the 1960s and will be the unique didactic instrument of this year’s Onouye studio. In this tradition, the form of architecture has more than an aesthetic basis. It is a key component in the solution of a range of issues, from programmatic and functional ones to those that involve the urban context. In addition to simultaneously posing the problem of form and structure and urban and architectural scales, the focus on urban infrastructure in this studio is intended to thematize the architectural importance of such utilitarian urban elements that are part of our daily experience of the city.

The design project will begin with a focus on the networks and pathways that will define the urban situation and then progressively move toward increasing levels of detail to confront issues of form, structure and materials; site and environment; and finally support and skin. While the design response will be expected to offer a discrete intervention with fairly precise limits, students will be asked to understand the broader implications of their project at an urban scale—particularly as it may respond to or even generate a network of movements or relationships.
methodology

The studio will especially focus on the issue of design method, which is particularly challenging when developing a project that responds to a wide variety of scales and design considerations at the same time addressing a complex problem and site. In the face of such evident complexity—and the potential for complex solutions—the studio will propose the idea of form (or morphology) as a mediator that will solve a variety of problems such as structural, functional, iconic, public space and landscape. To develop such formal solutions, students will be expected to work intensively through a combination of physical models, drawings and other visual media to critically investigate and refine their ideas.

course resources

The studio will be supplemented by some general resources to enhance an understanding of the issues of urban infrastructure and the contemporary city. Please also consult the studio website for additional material.

essays: (pdfs posted on website)
Aldo Rossi, "Urban Artifacts and a Theory of the City," and "The Structure of Urban Artifacts." In The Architecture of the City (1966), 21-61. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 1982.
Kasyz Varnelis, "The Meaning of Network Culture." In Networked Publics, edited by Kazys Varnelis, 145-163. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.

Reserve books:
Brian Hayes, Infrastructure: A Field Guide to the Industrial Landscape. New York: WW Norton, 2005. [see especially Chapter 10: Bridges and Tunnels]
Kelly Shannon and Marcel Smets, The Landscape of Contemporary Infrastructure. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2010.

Documents: (pdfs posted on website)
Seattle Design Commission, Main Corridor, South of Union, October 16th 2014.
Waterfront Seattle, Schematic Design: Main Corridor, October 2013.
For more general information on the Seattle Waterfront Plan, see: http://waterfrontseattle.org/overview

course method

The studio meets Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1:30 to 5:20 p.m. in Architecture Hall, 260A. When Professor Desideri is in Seattle, during weeks 2-3 and 8-9, there will be additional class meetings outside of regular studio time. In addition, two of Professor Desideri's assistants, Claudia Pagani and Gijs Pyckevet will be visiting during weeks 5-6 and 6-7 respectively. This will mean that the studio will be run as a collaborative studio environment in which students will be expected to mediate a variety of input while advancing their projects. Class time will be structured around a combination of site visits, individual consultations, group discussions, pin-ups and formal reviews. In addition, there will be periodic talks given by the main instructors to supplement the studio pedagogy and the particular studio problem. 

expectations

We expect the active presence and participation of each member of the studio during every class period. Students must be fully prepared for each class meeting by completing all required work on schedule and being prepared to speak about it. A number of the discussions, pin-ups and reviews are structured in a group format and as such your active attendance and participation in the reviews is expected. When digital media is used, we strongly prefer a physical output, which needs to be plotted or printed well before the review. We further expect that the appropriate media and appropriate level of craft be applied to each design and presentation task. 

grading and evaluation

The course is graded credit/no credit. We will also make use of the system of command and marginal pass and provide detailed feedback at the end of the quarter. 

important dates

monday 03/30 - Introduction and site visit
wednesday 04/08 - Networks and Pathways review [PD, BM]
friday 04/17 - Form, Structure and Materials review [PD & guest]
monday 04/27 - Site and Environment review [BM, CP]
monday 05/04 - Support and Skin review [BM, CP, GP]
friday 05/08 - Mid-review [BM, CP, GP & guests]
friday 05/15 - Progress pin-up [BM, GP]
wednesday 05/27 - Presentation review [PD, BM]
wednesday 06/03 - Final review and exhibition [PD, BM & guests]

[PD - Paolo Desideri / BM - Brian McLaren / CP - Claudia Pagani / GP - Gijs Pyckevet]