Start semester
80 615 Field stations: Lightweight architecture II
Prerequisites
— Good understanding of written and spoken English.
— Intermediate to a good level of draughtsmanship.
— Good attitude towards group work.
Course content
Field Stations — New Agenda for Times of Crisis
Often located in an outlying area or an area where research or a venture is under way, a field station is by definition a post, camp or place intermittently occupied to accommodate activity.
Understanding the field station as a small open structure that seeks to witness, sample and host recurring activities, we will work with the design and construction of a COVID testing and immunisation pavilion in Oslo.
With the current pandemic our existing life patterns have come to halt and a demanding a change in our behaviour and the way we inhabit the city. While the world is locked home, waiting for the promise of a vaccine, we will use the space of the studio to reflect on the current situation and practice practice.
The course will set up an interdisciplinary collaboration with the nursing school at OsloMet and SiO Health, which are currently supporting the testing effort of Oslo Kommune with two temporary test stations located at UiO (Blindern) and OsloMet (Bislett).
Lightweight Architecture
The studio will continue to work with lightness as a framework to build and challenge more permanent and static building solutions. Another way of understanding the concept of lightweight in architecture is to think about ephemeral building —everything that minimizes construction material, doesn't weigh much and, therefore, has special properties.
With this concept in mind, the studio seeks to understand the complexity of a building’s life cycle, trying to anticipate not just how it will be built and used, but also how it will be maintained and disassembled; and investigating the full potential of certain materials that have a low environmental impact or that are responsive to the environment.
Learning outcome
The project will be looking at how building with an ephemeral or lightweight mindset can guide us towards durable choices regarding the full building process from the extraction of raw material, production of elements, transportation, building technology and how a building can be dismantled.
The design questions raised by the studio will be addressed through an investigation of material technology and environmental politics, letting form emerge from an understanding of the material properties, both physical and aesthetic.
Through an in-depth study of materials and technological developments, participants will gain an understanding of the complexity involved in the realisation of a simple work of architecture.
Working and learning activities
The studio will focus on the execution of a pavilion, devoting most of the semester to the detail work, project management and the design of a construction process.
Throughout the semester participants can expect a series of fast-paced exercises, working in groups and individually. All students are expected to be active participants in the collaborative studio environment.
Scouting for lessons in the past, the studio will address the topic of stations for scientific research and environmental politics through a historical and technological lense. We will work with analytical drawing, embracing drawing lists, technical systems, schedules, budget sheets and logistic plans. Material samples and detailed models and discussions around division of labor will be an important component of the course.
Workshops with OsloMet students, paramedics from SiO and other local experts will take place.
More information regarding the collaboration with OsloMet and SiO will be made available in January.
Curriculum
Syllabus will be distributed on the first day of class.
Teaching Team
Andrea Pinochet
Lina Brsotröm
Ane Sønderaal Tolfen
Literature
Revised literature list will be distributed closer to semester start:
- Architect As Organizer Or The Way The World Works, Eeva-liisa Pelkonen, 2012.
- Practicing Practice, Peggy Dreamer, 2011.
- Risk: Excerpts from the Environmental Division of Labor, Reinhold Martin, 2016.
- Hints for a Neo-Humboldtian University, Lecture by Bruno Latour, 2016.
- Learning From The Virus, Paul B. Preciado, 2020.
- Introduction to Forensic Architecture, Eyal Weizman, 2016.
- The New Less is More, Werner Sobeck, 2009.
- Working with Industry, An Engineer Imagines, Peter Rice, 1998.
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other assessment method, define in comment field | Individual | Pass / fail | The final grade in the course will be given based on: — Design production and participation in studio meetings: 30% — Mid-review and Interim review presentation: 30% — Final review presentation and portfolio assessment: 40% |