Architecture Design Studio-IX (Final Year Design Project), is an opportunity for students to pick up projects that interest them. Students were required to choose the project, an appropriate site for such a project, and design the brief for the project. The Project scales chosen by students varied from Urban Insert to Landscape and architecture master planning, to Institution design to Housing design to commercial or Bazaar as a place design in the span of 16 weeks. The Studio required the students to formulate a design program or proposal based on live or hypothetical architectural projects and concerns. They were required to create environmental design and experiences based on architectural theory, process, techniques and methods. Further, the design intervention would be required to incorporate innovative architectural solutions for environmental, technological, social, economic and cultural context.
The following exercises were introduced in the Studio to help in identifying the student’s area of interest, converting it to an intent, followed by a statement of objectives that the design intervention would achieve:
1.Start-up Exercise 1: Flash cards – Content: The 3 topics:
WHAT? Title of the Project; Intent/ Concept of the Project; and its Programme
WHY? Statement/ Objectives of the Project; Issues that it addresses or enquires about
HOW? Site and it’s impressions; Reasons for the location
2.Exercise – 2. ___x_ files – x is your project name
Content : To make a brand or image of the project.
Create one or multiple images / collage that show your project in its intent philosophical premise, spatial stands, experiential quality etc.
3.Exercise – 3 – Site Analysis
SITE ANALYSIS – Context : photo panoramic documentation – Site and context drawing ( dwg) – Mapping of land use of context. – Mapping important buildings or areas of relevance in the context – Drawings – contours and topography – Landscape – different types of trees, water bodies etc; Catchment areas, floodline ( in case of water bodies) – Infrastructure – roads , services, streets (primary, secondary, pathways) public transport – Built vs open – circulation / movement , ratio of open and built part in site/context – Typology of built in the context, characteristics of the built fabric in its context – Climate – case study , orientation, sunpath,wind – Historical analysis of context/ site – Demographics – Socio economic studies- Socio cultural studies
4.Exercise – 4 – Program Coders
Programs ( with symbols) and their sizes
Atmospheres of programs
Clusters of programs that go together
Interrelationships of programs.
Visitors or usage in numbers
5.Exercise – 5 – Mass Play
SITE ANALYSIS – To make @ 10 numbers of different massing options.
For each model, take 2 photos.
3-D block models ( either digital or real)
6.Exercise – 6 – Director’s Cut
SITE ANALYSIS – Director’s Cut – Trailer of the Project
Review -2: Defining the project – concerns – program – 1st interpretation of design
7.Exercise – 7 – Reinvent the wheel
Content : To make a Reinvent the Wheel ( time problem/ case study)
A team of 2 students will study 4 case studies which are relevant to their projects. (with similar intents and ideas)