40 582 Architectural Project 2: Present Fundamentals (Autumn 2026)

Course responsible: Thomas McQuillan

Architectural Project 2 aims to guide students in the conception and design of an original architectural project that is materially and technically resolved.

The studio is interested in the dual character of architectural production oscillating between responding to given constraints while pursuing artistic freedom. The studio addresses architectural design as a process of judgment, through which ideas are tested and realized under real material and constructive conditions. Through a hands-on engagement with the traditional tools of the architectural discipline, students are guided by the instructors through an individual approach to architectural work.

Projects include a full range of architectural tasks, whether transformation or new construction, recognizing that each type of task presents distinct conceptual, material, and constructive challenges. Contributions from the faculty’s structural engineers secure the aim of the studio production towards buildability. The studio therefore trains students to develop a robust approach that remains sufficiently flexible to respond to these differing conditions with precision and ambition.

Tasks are seen as a critical examination of spatial organization and material form, rather than as an obedient response to detailed prescriptions. In this way, the studio is intended to train students in the core operations of architectural work at an advanced level, encouraging open-minded yet disciplined responses articulated through the language of architectural form

At the conclusion of the course the student should be able to:

• Formulate architectural ideas through critical conceptualization
• Advance a project by iterative studies of the core constituents of architectural production
• Acquire and apply specific knowledge in dialogue with relevant expertise
• Integrate critical feedback while preserving independence
• Use, develop and test design techniques that advance and communicate an architectural proposal
• Evaluate architectural quality through assessment of a project’s constitution, integrity and impact

The course is organized around the principle of the open studio, in which architectural work is discussed collectively in plenum as the primary pedagogical format. Unlike conventional studio teaching, where individual desk critiques dominate, this course emphasizes shared discussion, collective judgment, and public reasoning about architectural work.

Plenum discussions form the core of the studio’s teaching method. All students are expected to actively contribute to critiques of their peers’ work. Students form interlocutor pairs, and during critique, the student interlocutor is asked to speak first, articulating their own assessment of the work before instructors respond. This structure is intended to develop architectural judgment by encouraging students to articulate criteria and assume responsibility for critical evaluation. Students are asked to consult with their interlocutor outside of formal teaching sessions to test ideas, raise questions and refine their work.

Discussion in plenum is deliberately analogue. Models and drawings constitute the material basis for critique and discussion. While no restrictions are placed on how work is produced — including the use of parametric tools, scripting, or AI-assisted methods, all of which we recommend when appropriate — digital media is excluded from plenum discussions in order to foreground spatial, material, and formal reasoning through direct physical representation.

The studio meets according to a weekly rhythm:

• Mondays are reserved for lectures, activities, and individual critiques.
• Thursdays are dedicated to plenum discussions of student work.

By conducting collective critiques on a regular basis — rather than limiting them to a small number of formal reviews — the studio aims to normalize presentation, reduce performance anxiety, and cultivate a supportive atmosphere of mutual respect. An explicit pedagogical premise of the course is that the work itself is the primary object of discussion.

hysical attendance at lectures, reviews, supervision sessions, discussions, and other educational activities is expected and necessary in order to achieve the learning outcomes

Form of assessment: Project

Grading scale: Pass/fail

In order to be assessed in this course, the student must have completed the following activities and assignments:

• Weekly plenum participation
• Deliveries at deadlines specified in the semester brief
• Drawings, models, images, and texts as specified in the semester brief