That's a wrap...

With our final studio project done, I have a question: Which is more of a mess? Me or our studio space? Funny thing is, I wasn't intentionally trying to close my eyes for the photo...

We are now only 1 presentation away from finishing our undergraduate education!

Don't Forget to Clean Up

The studio is relatively safe right now but understandably in the mass push to get things done things might get neglected and order, cleanliness, and organization will give way to messy anarchy.  Please remember that a relatively clean studio is a lot safer than a messy one.  People can slip on dust, get blinded by flying rotary tool bits, or trip over electric equipment amidst all the model making.  Please take precautions in ensuring that models, computers, and others are not injured during this deadline.  A moment of cleaning up things would be both therapeutic and safe... unfortunately we do not have things like the Portrash to help out...

<48 hours until a major portion of your undergraduate education comes to an end...

Friday Friday Fun Fun Fun

Ten days until our final undergraduate submission! I think it goes without saying that most of us are feeling like this... And to prove how committed we are to our work, we didn't even bother evacuating the studio despite the building being taped off due to some "threats." (Probably because we had the perfect view....)

another weekend in our favourite place

As our Tuesday deadline approaches, our studio is beginning to look like a tornado went through it... We're working hard to complete our models, but sharing many laughs along the way. Through all the stress and frustratation, it's comforting to have such a great group of studio mates for encouragement and support (and love!) (Awwww.)

Loaf of Bread + Lemon Merengue* (over-heated styrene) = My model...

Stay tuned for the full reveal!

*No Vince, it was just a test piece.

How many architects does it take to disassemble a model?

library books being put to good use

No comment.

It glows!

Frank saves the day (again)

Jess confused by what sort of modelling she's supposed to be doing...

Now back to work!

Component Design

QuaDror from Dror on Vimeo.

Though many of you are still coming off the Las Vegas and Nevada high, it is important to keep a focus on the remainder of the term's projects - most notably the final design assignment, P4. The first part of the assignment deals with the development of a base component or prototype of an envelope for an arid climate.  As a source of inspiration, the QuaDror design is an interesting precedent to get you thinking about the project and develop your own approaches to innovative design.

Studio Mugshots

This is just a reminder to all ASC820 Option Studio students that we will be taking mugshot photos for the course. Photos will be taken at the beginning of Thursday's studio session.

Find Your Key to the Studio

 

If you have your key deposit ready and filled out the appropriate paperwork, please see Ricky in the office to pick up your studio key.  Once you have it, please test it out as soon as possible to ensure your key is cut so that it actually works.  Please remember that the studio key access is a shared responsibility so it is best that everyone agrees to be vigilant about security and safety in that room.

A Place to Call Your Own

Take a look at this photo and remember what the studio space was before the option studio occupied it.  Within a matter of weeks the stark walls, unfinished ceiling infrastructure, and austere interiors will be a memory.  Students should be mindful of the overhead suspended ceiling components, most notably those which are clearly still under repair.  Ideally the university will resolve this matter within the next week to ensure students may focus on the design tasks at hand!

In the beginning...

Welcome to the blog for Ryerson University's Architectural Science Fourth Year Option Studio entitled "The Architecture of Subtlety and Spectacle".  This is where students enrolled in the studio will share with their colleagues and greater architecture community notable observations, explorations, and design developments throughout the term. 

This studio option proposes an engaging challenge for architecture students: how to mediate between the delicate sensitivities we embrace in architecture and the impulses to create stunning monumental works.  As this is a studio that addresses extreme conditions, the focus of the course would center on the city of Las Vegas and its surrounding desert biomes.

Students in this studio would explore the range of spectacle and architectural/infrastructural marvels set in place to create the cultural extremes of Las Vegas.  The extravagance and gaudy cultural built environment is an excellent case study in contemporary architecture. Steeped with an understanding of these notions as articulated in seminal works including Venturi’s “Learning from Las Vegas,” Ockman’s “Architecture Culture” Anthology, Vidler’s “Histories of the Immediate Present”, and excerpts from Hays’ “Architecture Theory since 1968”, students in this studio would also understand the process that has led to how the city manifests itself and has become an icon under many lenses.

A complementary stream within the studio relates to the subtleties of architecture drawing from the extreme conditions of the desert yielding delicate, understated design bases.  Every gesture and detail within a desert ecosystem and its organisms are deliberate yet nuanced in order to maintain its operation and inherent metabolism.  Students will be exposed to the extreme conditions within arid environments (supported by a component of the field trip to the Mojave Desert) and architectural responses ranging from native traditions to contemporary efficient design models.  As the course proceeds, students will gain a greater appreciation of these responses through readings, precedents, and a series of design and fabrication exercises.  Driven by inspiration from biomimicry, current trends in parametric modeling, and rapid prototyping, students will synthesize subtleties from the natural environment in developing envelope component designs.