In Search of Design through Engineers

This course aims to teach, stimulate and demonstrate \”design led\” opportunities that exist in the zone between Architecture and Engineering, through the paradigm of Design Engineering. Positioned within the space of interdisciplinary boundaries, the course has in the past been attended by both GSD and MIT students to encourage and pioneer a joint, interdisciplinary discourse. Six selected high profile projects, won as design competitions and subsequently constructed, act as the platform to expand the thinking on:- Pioneering technical solutions; – Establishing a variety of aesthetic positions; and – Exploring transformational research in adapting to both diverse design methodologies and rapid technological developments. Instruments such as \”transcalarity\”, \”complexity\”, \”simplexity\”, \”computation\” and \”sustainability\” are discussed to show new ways of uniting design education, practice and the construction of such projects. The course structure covers a broad spectrum incorporating six architectural approaches that allow students to cover a response to each unique derivative position, from concept to construction. Through substantial and unpublished original material, students will engage with the early conceptual stages of each project through to the detailed design process and site construction. Through quick and to-the-point design exercises, analysis, interaction and team work, students will become part of the project team in the most critical design decisions, how and why the final result was shaped by exploring possible alternatives. Each case study will last 3-5 sessions, with the 1st one introducing the project. Student team projects will be assigned during the 2nd session and presented in subsequent sessions. During the course, the project architect(s) of each case will participate in the discussion, either remotely or in class. A final paper/ project will conclude the course. Case studies: Phaeno Centre (Zaha Hadid); Shires project (Foreign Office Architects); Queen Mary Student Housing (Fielden Clegg Bradley); Adelaide Wharf (Allford Hall Monaghan Morris), Southern Ridges Bridge (IJP Corporation/ RSP architects), Heelis – National Trust HQ (Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios).