308 EAAE no 35 Teaching and Experimenting with Architectural Design: Advances in Technology and Changes in Pedagogy
As an architect you will design a shop to the specifications of the client. You will
aid the client in the development of a program and advise in the selection of a site.
You will present a well thought out preliminary design solution to the design jury.
The design jury will compose of the two design instructors and your client. Method of
presentation is up to you.
SCOPE OF PROJECT: The project shall be limited to 100 square meters of retail area.
Storage and support areas (toilets, mechanical, etc.) to be additional as required by
the program. All work to conform to all health and safety codes.
CONSIDERATIONS: site context, basic structural, traffic flow, basic mechanical,
Graphics, fire protection, lighting, security considerations.
In this part students worked in pairs (one American, one Polish) acting permutably
as client and architect. This exercise was interesting also from point of view of dif-
ferent national backgrounds.
As we expected acting as a client and setting well-specified requirements was more
difficult than creating an architectural space afterwards. One of the aims was to make
students aware that architects ultimately must have a client. This client, whether
private or public is usually highly intelligent, organized and experienced individual or
individuals who have strong instincts as to how the world works in dealing with people.
In my experience I have found the following: in the private sector client is usually
a self made and highly aggressive individual while in the public sector the person
is usually extremely organized and power orientated. Both are extremely focused on
time, efficiency and cost. Again, they know how to deal with people. This was a trial
of exposing a young architectural student to these types of personalities early on.
Second part of the design was directed to sociological issues and teamwork char-
acteristic for professional reality.
PROJECT NO. 2
AIM: To revitalized Marszalkowska Street and Constitution Square (Place Konstytucji)
PROBLEM: There has been a general degradation of the commercial and retail business
along Marszalkowska Street and Constitution Square over the past 15 years. Many
established and vibrant businesses have relocated to the suburbs and/or the larger
malls (i.e. Arkadia, etc.). There is also an apparent demographic shift of the young
and affluent leaving the downtown in favor of the outlying areas. The problem at hand
is to see if it is possible to reverse this trend.
ANALYSIS: You will initially be broken up into teams to analyze the following areas.
You will select a team leader who will be responsible for organization and delegation
of duties (much like Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice”).
- historical considerations
- building and spatial documentation
- past, present and future demographic conditions (economic, age, etc.)
- past, present and future zoning requirements
- transportation systems (including vehicular and traffic patterns) and parking
- general economic growth projections for specific areas dealing in retail, office,
housing, governmental, cultural