Low-rise high-density prefabricated timber housing
Credits:
24
Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:
Low-rise high-density prefabricated timber housing
Course code:
40 502
Level of study:
Master
Teaching semester:
2016 Autumn
Language of instruction:
Norwegian / English
Required prerequisite knowledge
Completed basic education / admitted to master level.
Course content
As Oslo’s urban planning for the coming decades is based on densification, a broader range of typologies than traditional blocks of flats and single-family houses needs to be considered. Low-rise high-density housing with 3 to 4 floors could fill this gap and will be the topic of this course. In the context of increasing focus on a building’s environmental impact, timber as a construction material is of great relevance. Additionally, new building codes and updated production methods enable an extended use of timber in urban areas. We are going to explore the opportunities that prefabricated timber solutions can offer to low-rise high-density housing. The project development will span from a conceptual approach via an urban strategy to an architectural project with technical solutions and key details.
Collaboration with OBOS, lectures by various experts and reviews by recognized architects will contribute to the learning results and to a practice-oriented framework in the studio. Input from ongoing academic research will be included, and elements of the students’ work might feed back into an on-going PhD thesis.
End results will include a detailed presentation of each project in drawings, models and text, and a catalogue showing the full range of experimental studies and research.
Learning outcome
There will be a focus on identifying important criteria for the concept development, on the clear articulation of a concept in words, drawings and models, and finally on the synthesis of several aspects into a full project on a real site. The students will also learn to negotiate and discuss their concepts and projects with a potential client and an acknowledged architect.
a. Knowledge: Basic knowledge about low-rise high-density housing and specific knowledge related to timber as a building material, especially in an industrial context.
b. Skills: To develop concepts and solutions for low-rise high-density housing in prefabricated timber and to communicate these via drawings, models and text.
c. General competence: To turn knowledge into a specific solution. To transfer conceptual ideas into a realistic project with a distinct program and site.
Working and learning activities
Lectures, studio project work with group meetings and individual tutoring. Groups of 2 - 3 max. in the pre-projects, individual work or groups of max. 2 for the full projects. Collaboration with OBOS: initial lecture about how they work, then guest critique. External examiner.
Lectures by experts on wood in general, timber construction, issues related to fire and acoustics, the building envelope, examples of low-rise high-density, housing.
Work effort.
Presence at lectures is mandatory. Participation in individual tutoring is mandatory. Its amount and character may be adapted to student needs. Participation in workshops and reviews / critiques is mandatory for passing the course. Development, delivery, plenary presentation and critique of project task are mandatory for passing the course.
Students are expected to use the workshop if necessary for their working models, and for the production of final models.
Curriculum
A list of books is under development:
· Timber construction manual (Herzog, Draeger)
· Solid wood: case studies in mass timber architecture, technology and design (Joseph Mayo)
· Urbaner Holzbau, Chancen und Potentiale für die Stadt (Cheret, Schwaner, Seidel)
· Prefab architecture (Smith)
· Typologie+ (Ebner, Herrmann, Röllbacher, Kuntscher, Wietzorrek)
· Three ways of assembling a house (Beim/CINARK)
| Mandatory coursework | Presence required | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Presence required | Not required | Presence at lectures is mandatory. Participation in individual tutoring is mandatory. Its amount and character may be adapted to student needs. Participation in workshops and reviews / critiques is mandatory for passing the course. Development, delivery, plenary presentation and critique of project task are mandatory for passing the course. |
| Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Individual | Pass / fail | The project development during the whole semester counts equally to the end presentation in the evaluation of the course. Regular participation is mandatory. Several interim presentations will offer the students milestones to structure their work, and feedback on the different parts of their design. They will also serve to assess the student’s progress. Deliverables for each presentation will be specified in detail when the semester starts. They might consist of a presentation of studied texts or buildings with pictures and text, working models, drawings, and oral presentations. The final presentation will require conceptual drawings (schemes/diagrams/pictograms), a drawing of the urban situation, floor plans, facades, sections, 3d illustrations (rendering/collage/hand drawing..), detailed drawings of solutions essential for the project, and models. Specific project data (yet to be defined) will be assessed by each student. The presentations will be based on the same graphic format for the whole group to make it suitable for exhibition, publication and/or implementation into a PhD project. |