40 683 Building Works: Depth (Spring 2027)

The spring 2027 course is part of the Building Works course series (former The Architectural Project - TAP) which addresses how an architectural proposition is made and developed into an architectural project that is spatially, materially and technically resolved. In the spring course, Building Works - Depth, we focus on architectural quality, understanding and details. The course is set up with one individual project to be developed throughout the semester. In the fall course, Building Works - Volume, we focus on architectural logic and pace. The course is set up with three finite projects to be carried out individually, one after the other.

In the spring 2027Building Works – Depth course we will work with housing. Through critical and creative approaches to the subject, various types of programs and tectonic solutions will be explored and materialized. Students will be encouraged to respond to the given brief with precision and ambition. Hence, it is through the application of central methods and operations of architectural work that the course provides sought-after professional training.

Teaching contributions from the faculty’s structural engineers secure the aim of the studio production towards buildability.

There will be an excursion to Mallorca where we among other activities will meet with IBAVI (the Balearic Housing Institute) known for their experimental ecologically sustainable social housing works and visit the newly renovated Can Liz by Jørn Utzon.

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

• Formulate architectural ideas through critical conceptualization
• Use design techniques that advance and communicate an architectural proposal
• Develop a housing project to a comprehensive level by iterative studies of the core constituents of architectural production
• Acquire and apply specific knowledge on housing and building methods in dialogue with relevant expertise
• Integrate critical feedback while preserving independence
• Evaluate architectural quality through assessment of a project’s constitution, integrity and impac

The course is organized around the principle of studio teaching where each student develops an architectural project as a response to an individual brief for housing on a specific site.

The studio meets according to a weekly rhythm:

• Mondays are reserved for individual desk talks with the teachers.
• Wednesdays the teachers present a relevant project and/or text for discussion.
• Fridays are dedicated to pin-ups where both studio and teachers contribute to the discussion of the work.

External guest critics will give talks about their work to the studio and be present at interim and final reviews.

Models and drawings constitute the material basis for critique and discussion. While few restrictions are placed on how work is produced, digital media is excluded from desk-crits and collective pin-ups to foreground spatial, material, and formal reasoning through curated and direct physical representation.

The studio aims to establish a culture where we share ideas, normalize presentations 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.

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

Assessment method: Project

Grouping: Individual

Grading scale: Pass/fail

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

The final submission will consist of architectural drawings, visualizations, models, a project description and selected process material, collected in a studio-specific pamphlet.