Danny Windmolders, Michel Preuveneers Provinciale Hogeschool Limburg, Department of Architecture, Diepenbeek, Belgium 157
By focussing on the materialisation and the appearance of the architectural projects
in the design studio, emphasis is put on the way the materialisation of architecture
is part of transforming the world.
Material is more than the resources or building products of which a building is
made. Of course it has to do with logical solutions for problems of a physical nature
such as stability, insulation or waterproofing, but is also more than that. Architec-
tures materiality plays an important role in the way architecture is experienced and
articulates the emotional life of individuals and society as a whole. The choice of
material is not only determined by rational arguments but also by emotional ones.
Integrating ICT-Tools and classic working instruments into the design studio
As a consequence of the pedagogic concept as it is organised in our architectural
design studio, it is absolutely necessary to make use of the broad range of communica-
tion and information tools available through ICT. They allow the team of teachers and
students to work intensively together in an atmosphere of constant communication,
criticism and information. These are the necessary conditions to make the concept
of “critical-spatial-design” function.
In the latest evolution of architectural education it is almost inconceivable to
let the design studio function with the same dynamic and communicative intensity,
without the new ICT- tools. The use of more recent and rather sophisticated technolo-
gies became more and more important.
However, architecture developed in a digital world always has a virtual dimension. It
has no scale, escapes gravity and is in this sense intangible. Therefore, it is obvious
that in the design process the classic tools and equipments, such as, drawing tables,
scale models facilities, libraries, photo studio’s, etc., continue to play a significant
role.
Basic Excercices 06-07
The main topic in the second bachelor year design studio is “DWELLING”, in different
forms of cohabitation, scale levels and degrees of contextual complexity.
The different assignments in the design studio are part of a whole and comple-
mentary series of exercises concerning this topic. As such students have to deal
with questions concerning the architectural object as well as urban integration, the
virtual dimension of architecture as well as specific material technologies and purely
individual or composite forms of dwelling as well as a typical family dwelling is part
of the programme.
Architectural Essay
The challenge in this exercise is to question ‘living’ as a phenomenon in a preliminary
study, starting from an unconventional and therefore challenging context and design
brief and then translating the insights gained into an architectural solution. As the
first exercise of the second year, this assignment is a group-exercise with an experi-