Ansgar Killing Prospecti
Prospectus / Syllabus Thesis Studio 2015 – 2016 Instructor Ansgar Killing
The Italian author Umberto Eco once referred to architecture as a plan for change of reality on a three-‐dimensional level. Architects change reality, o>en for the be?er, some@mes for the worse. Whatever change they apply to reality, will persist through @mes and has an enduring impact on the environment. Consequently, Architecture has a remarkable cultural responsibility. And it has to succeed in the first place. Architects do not build prototypes. Buildings are not serial products that can be tested and enhanced over @me. Architects are also expected to solve complex problems. This requires a profound understanding of rela@onships, dependencies and constraints, o>en within domains that are not part of the architect’s educa@onal background. Therefore, the architect’s ability to research, understand, and represent project related coherences is essen@al for the success of the proposed design solu@on. The thesis project focuses on your ability to systema@cally and intellectually approach a complex design task. You are expected to research the theore@cal background of a design task, how to structure the design process, and how to present content in a structured, consolidated manner.
This is not the end of crea/vity. In fact, it is the start point.
Facing a set of well-researched aspects and surrounding conditions, you will identify and prioritize design criteria that will guide the design decisions. Developing and selecting these criteria is a truly creative process, and it requires vision. At this point you need to face rigorous decisions about what is essence and what can be sacrificed. Some design ideas may turn out to be ballast. You will cut loose any aspect that is not an essential part of your concept.
Good architecture has a sense of purity in this regard. A famous architect once coined the phrase “A good building can be drawn with a few lines”. A good concept can be described in a few lines of text, a diagram, or a simple model. Reduce your concept to that essence. Then, the apparent simplicity of your solution will unveil the strength of the concept. It shows what decisions you have made, and by that it communicates clarity that comes from inside. Achieving and maintaining that purity is not easy.
To make your concept work, to make it a change of reality on a three-dimensional level, you need to prove that your vision is in fact possible. Not showing this maturity diminishes your project to wallpaper. Your concept becomes a design that shows how functional requirements can be satisfied without sacrificing the purity of the concept. Floor plans and sections show the layout of your program. Digital and physical models communicate the spatial relationships. Finally, you will show in depth that your vision holds up to a reality check. Can this be built? Will this be the way you intended it to be? With the endurance that is needed to translate vision into reality you will bring it down to the detail.
…and you will show that you have become an architect.
Projects: Matthew Hart, Class of 2010, Jonathan Houck, Class of 2013
This 5th year studio will be structured in a one-quarter comprehensive design studio and a two-quarter thesis project. In Fall quarter, you will train your ability to translate an architectural vision into a buildable project. Starting with a 3-day design Charette you will quickly move forward on the design and accomplish design drawings and model for the midterm. At the final, you will present detail drawings and large scale models of your design. This, of course, does not prevent you from tackling your thesis project in Fall. As you learn to handle more than one project at a time, you will prepare and present your theoretical approach to what you will start in the second quarter: Your thesis project.
Project: Your Colleague Blake Freitas, Class of 2011
With the beginning of Winter quarter you will start design on your thesis project. Building on the theoretical foundation and research that you have laid down during Fall quarter, you will shaping your project. Throughout Winter and Spring quarter you will present to your studio, the faculty of the college, and to the university in a number of different shows and events, culminating in the Chumash show at the end of Spring quarter.
I prefer an interactive studio environment, and, therefore, will encourage (sometimes even enforce) discussions about your projects. This is what you have to face anyway as you go out to work in an architectural firm. I consider the studio like a professional environment in which you learn from each other. You will team up for assignments and presentations and you will present and defend your design choices also to faculty from other departments to interdisciplinary skills.
Field trips ...are an important way to perceive and explore architecture and its cultural context. You can’t see this in magazines or on Google. In addition to short field trips I am encouraging you to pursue a one-week field trip. Due to Cal Poly policies this trip may have to be domestic (international trip usually require 2 quarter notice). However, I will make an effort to go to Germany in November. A two third majority is necessary to get things going. Depending on the timing, the field trip could be also an opportunity to present your thesis project at another architecture school, for example Dessau Institute for Architecture. [decision: 1 w] [prep: min. 4 w] [trip: 1 w]
Project: Your Colleagues Herzog & deMeuron
So this is me… I am the guy who holds his head. This picture tells you a lot about me. The picture was taken when I partner in an architectural firm back in Germany with a lot of responsibility and a lot to worry about, but also with exciting projects. The firm got its projects merely through architectural competitions. 1) What does this picture tell you about me? (1) I don’t have a lot of hair and I like to wear white T-shirts. (2) Look at the wall behind me: I really like (…and demand) physical models. (3) Look again: See the material sample? You need to get specific. Just call it a ‘Screen’ won’t do. (4) Noticed the binder in the front? This binder contains detailing for a single project. You need to prove that what you design is actually doable. (5) Finally: Imagine how desperate I would appear if there wouldn’t be a second person in the picture: Exchange, Teamwork, and Feedback are crucial. 1):
http://www.kh-architekten.de
The Italian author Umberto Eco once referred to architecture as a plan for change of reality on a three-‐dimensional level. Architects change reality, o>en for the be?er, some@mes for the worse. Whatever change they apply to reality, will persist through @mes and has an enduring impact on the environment. Consequently, Architecture has a remarkable cultural responsibility. And it has to succeed in the first place. Architects do not build prototypes. Buildings are not serial products that can be tested and enhanced over @me. Architects are also expected to solve complex problems. This requires a profound understanding of rela@onships, dependencies and constraints, o>en within domains that are not part of the architect’s educa@onal background. Therefore, the architect’s ability to research, understand, and represent project related coherences is essen@al for the success of the proposed design solu@on. The thesis project focuses on your ability to systema@cally and intellectually approach a complex design task. You are expected to research the theore@cal background of a design task, how to structure the design process, and how to present content in a structured, consolidated manner.
This is not the end of crea/vity. In fact, it is the start point.
Facing a set of well-researched aspects and surrounding conditions, you will identify and prioritize design criteria that will guide the design decisions. Developing and selecting these criteria is a truly creative process, and it requires vision. At this point you need to face rigorous decisions about what is essence and what can be sacrificed. Some design ideas may turn out to be ballast. You will cut loose any aspect that is not an essential part of your concept.
Good architecture has a sense of purity in this regard. A famous architect once coined the phrase “A good building can be drawn with a few lines”. A good concept can be described in a few lines of text, a diagram, or a simple model. Reduce your concept to that essence. Then, the apparent simplicity of your solution will unveil the strength of the concept. It shows what decisions you have made, and by that it communicates clarity that comes from inside. Achieving and maintaining that purity is not easy.
To make your concept work, to make it a change of reality on a three-dimensional level, you need to prove that your vision is in fact possible. Not showing this maturity diminishes your project to wallpaper. Your concept becomes a design that shows how functional requirements can be satisfied without sacrificing the purity of the concept. Floor plans and sections show the layout of your program. Digital and physical models communicate the spatial relationships. Finally, you will show in depth that your vision holds up to a reality check. Can this be built? Will this be the way you intended it to be? With the endurance that is needed to translate vision into reality you will bring it down to the detail.
…and you will show that you have become an architect.
Projects: Matthew Hart, Class of 2010, Jonathan Houck, Class of 2013
This 5th year studio will be structured in a one-quarter comprehensive design studio and a two-quarter thesis project. In Fall quarter, you will train your ability to translate an architectural vision into a buildable project. Starting with a 3-day design Charette you will quickly move forward on the design and accomplish design drawings and model for the midterm. At the final, you will present detail drawings and large scale models of your design. This, of course, does not prevent you from tackling your thesis project in Fall. As you learn to handle more than one project at a time, you will prepare and present your theoretical approach to what you will start in the second quarter: Your thesis project.
Project: Your Colleague Blake Freitas, Class of 2011
With the beginning of Winter quarter you will start design on your thesis project. Building on the theoretical foundation and research that you have laid down during Fall quarter, you will shaping your project. Throughout Winter and Spring quarter you will present to your studio, the faculty of the college, and to the university in a number of different shows and events, culminating in the Chumash show at the end of Spring quarter.
I prefer an interactive studio environment, and, therefore, will encourage (sometimes even enforce) discussions about your projects. This is what you have to face anyway as you go out to work in an architectural firm. I consider the studio like a professional environment in which you learn from each other. You will team up for assignments and presentations and you will present and defend your design choices also to faculty from other departments to interdisciplinary skills.
Field trips ...are an important way to perceive and explore architecture and its cultural context. You can’t see this in magazines or on Google. In addition to short field trips I am encouraging you to pursue a one-week field trip. Due to Cal Poly policies this trip may have to be domestic (international trip usually require 2 quarter notice). However, I will make an effort to go to Germany in November. A two third majority is necessary to get things going. Depending on the timing, the field trip could be also an opportunity to present your thesis project at another architecture school, for example Dessau Institute for Architecture. [decision: 1 w] [prep: min. 4 w] [trip: 1 w]
Project: Your Colleagues Herzog & deMeuron
So this is me… I am the guy who holds his head. This picture tells you a lot about me. The picture was taken when I partner in an architectural firm back in Germany with a lot of responsibility and a lot to worry about, but also with exciting projects. The firm got its projects merely through architectural competitions. 1) What does this picture tell you about me? (1) I don’t have a lot of hair and I like to wear white T-shirts. (2) Look at the wall behind me: I really like (…and demand) physical models. (3) Look again: See the material sample? You need to get specific. Just call it a ‘Screen’ won’t do. (4) Noticed the binder in the front? This binder contains detailing for a single project. You need to prove that what you design is actually doable. (5) Finally: Imagine how desperate I would appear if there wouldn’t be a second person in the picture: Exchange, Teamwork, and Feedback are crucial. 1):
http://www.kh-architekten.de
