Year 1

Semester 1: Woodpecker Exhibition

Spiritus Avem

Each student was assigned a particular animal and told to analyze it, breaking the creature down to key concepts and components. Taking these concepts, they were assigned to create an "instrument" that was drawn from the concepts he/she had observed in their respective animals. From there, each student created a site that was informed by his/her instrument, whether theoretically created by the instrument or simply designed to house it and act as its counterpart. Finally, these designs were translated into an architectural language that would function as an Exhibition Space whose complete program was up to the student's interpretation.  .

Professors: Lorena Del Rio and Jim Williamson

Teaching Assistant: Andrew Fu

Semester 2: Funeral Complex

Misaligned

Each student was assigned two building precedents/typologies (one "traditional" and one "modern") and told to research and analyze them, extracting key design concepts and representing them through a series of drawings and models. After extracting their concepts, they were asked to create a hybrid design that would merge aspects of each precedent that he/she found interesting. This hybrid would later lead to the student's final design. The final program was a Funerary Complex for a single family. The project was located in a fictional site characterized by a cliff, a grid of trees, and an incline that lead down to a body of water. (Students were given permission to alter the site if it made logical sense with our designs)

Professors: Lorena Del Rio and Jim Williamson

Teaching Assistant: Lea Stagno