ARC3016Y S
Instructor: Adrian Phiffer
Meeting Section: L0101
Tuesday, 2:00pm - 6:00pm; Friday, 2:00pm - 6:00pm

This thesis studio joins in the rhetoric of our time, which is rightfully governed by the anxieties of losing our repeatable present, and proposes the exploration of one quote and three themes:

“It was heartbreaking, if not obscene to have to imagine here, a city” (1) is the invitation to consider the idea of compromise as an entryway into an architectural project. It means something has to give, because without any doubt, architecture is not nature. And while the range of design possibilities is wide, from no architecture to absolute architecture, note that the above observation did not stop the architect from imagining.

Generic. It implies notions of repetition, efficiency, non-authorship, sobriety, and awareness of the present. We will explore it as a design strategy.

Reality. It is the opposite of abstraction. It is to work on how to bring the image of an idea into the present. We will explore it as representational technique via physical model and moving image making.

Climate. It is the hyper-object in constant change: fast forward, fast backward, a looming unknown; somehow at the fingertips of everyone nowadays – toss some garbage, drive to work, send an email, enjoy a hot shower: you make climate. It is the hypo-object under constant control: the end product of architecture, the inhabitable interior, the place of the feeling of comfort. In both cases, it is the clear expression of the vulnerability of our environment and of our perception. We will explore it as the double bind of our time.

This thesis studio takes as its site an island – the place of mysterious remoteness, voluntary isolation, cultural concentration, and specific climate configuration; a world in itself. More specifically, we will work on Vancouver Island – a site of rich indigenous cultures, deep and troubling colonial histories, beautiful climates, fragile ecosystems, and antagonistic social and economic organizations. Over the course of two semesters, we will imagine the existence of new community on the island, outside the urban settings – somewhere in the wild. We will not abide by a specific scale or program, but rather let the process of research and design lead to reified projects.

This thesis studio is targeted at the making of buildings. But because thesis may be about the creation of good-nature manifestos, your building should not be an end it itself.

This thesis studio will travel to Vancouver Island.

(1) Rem Koolhaas in S, M, L, XL