As architects we are interested in space, the volume, the void, the container of activities.
To allow for an intended use we plan the transitions between these spaces and determine all physical aspects of the spaces and the surfaces that define them: light, color, material, texture, sound, smell, temperature. To realize the surfaces of these spaces in our current world, we determine the structural components to hold them up, we configure the assembly to separate and protect from the elements; we create a building.
We study the daily and seasonal interplay of this building with the environment and add the necessary mechanical systems. We integrate the building into the fabric of human activity woven from existing infrastructures and codes.
In the short 8 week semester (2 on-line, 1 intensive, 5 on-line) on a site in Boston we will develop a facility to house the intensive portion of a distance learning program. We will analyze site and context, develop a program, a vision, a concept, a parti. We will analyze the applicable codes, incorporate mechanical systems and augment the design with the most appropriate structural system. We will focus on small details and paint a broad brush perspective both to explain the essence of our composition.
We will try to understand “integrative design” by experiencing a design process where key technical variables are integrated into design thinking at an early stage. We will
exercise “multi-layered thinking” by focusing on individual aspects of the building while keeping the whole building in mind to develop quickly from vision to product, from general to specific and where each part will influence all other.