Revised Schedule/Assignments

January 28, 2007

Assignment 1: Due January 29

The Memory Palace and the Collapsed City

Objective


Develop an understanding of the program, “A House, A Subway, A Nightclub,” as a formalization of the concept of The Method of Loci, in which one uses sites within an imagined conception of the city to store memories.

Means

Draw at least one section through the site that suggests a collapsed image of the city by including external references to the greater fabric of the city. Within the section, a collapsed conception of the city, locate “moments or sites” in which to store the various components of the program.

Material

Research Material, Photographs, and means of architectural drawing of choice

Issues

How are the external references to the city represented in the drawing? Decide when it is appropriate to use sectional datums, datums of phenomena (i.e. the recurring use of colors, textures, light, etc.), or more direct representations such as photographs or drawn artifacts. In the Method of Loci, information is retrieved by an imagined itinerary through the Memory Palace. When drawing the program into the section of the collapsed city consider a specific itinerary related to the itinerary.

Assignment 2: Due February 1

The Hook Up

Objective

The crucial moments of “The House, The Subway, The Nightclub” occur within the “party walls,” which are the architectural events in which the components of the program interact and are brought into relationship with each other. Choose one of these moments and examine the tectonic and spatial implications of the “party wall.”

Means

Build a study model that examines in detail the relationship between programs at a specific moment found within the project’s various “party walls.” The scale of the model should be 1/2" = 1’-0”.

Material

Chipboard, museum board, paper, and/or basswood

Issues

Consider the moment examined as a detail particularly in terms of shared or common sensory experience. Also, how do the shared experiences between shared programs also act within the context of the Method of Loci, referring to external references to the city beyond?

Assignment 3: Due February 4

The Memory Palace and the Collapsed City Revisited

Objective

Re-examine the drawings completed in “Assignment 1: The Memory Palace and the Collapsed City,” and respond to criticism to refine the intentions of the drawing. Then test the programmatic relationships by completing additional drawings considering different itineraries through the site/program.

Means

Revise the section produced in Assignment 1 and complete a second section based on a different itinerary. Then expand the ideas proposed in each drawing into three dimensions with the completion of at least one study model at 1/8” = 1’-0”.

Material

Drawings: research Material, photographs, and means of architectural drawing of choice
Models: chipboard, museum board, paper, and/or basswood.

Issues

How do the two sections relate to each other in terms of the external references and internal itineraries that guide their creation? Does the addition of a second itinerary cause the first to alter itself in negotiation with the second?

Assignment 4: Due February 4

Shared Stories

Objective

Prepare the presentation and explanation of the work for the sketch project review on February 5.

Means

Write a “practice script” that explains the project and commit the key points to memory to avoid leaving out key information during the presentation.

Issues

Aim for clarity and conciseness.