ETS4 - Piece by Piece

In our seven sessions we build knowledge through discussion and production - with the time each week used to research draw and make from precedent. Feedback will be through an ongoing series of reciprocal presentations and tutorials seeking to enable us with the ability to scrutinise the technology of our chosen building elements. Sufficiently developing technical understanding and skills to confidently apply this type of thinking to our own architecture.

• The submission is by group as a drawn, analysed and built 1.1 prototype or working model, progressing as follows:
• Collection and formatting of original drawings Site Visit
• Systematic analysis
• Production of fabrication drawings for construction Building and testing of prototypes and working models Construction and Submission of final model

Previous years have focused for example on work by the Engineer Peter Rice and our interest in his resolution of tectonic connections between elements and the Architect Carlo Scarpa for his hands on approach to detailing.The aim of this research project is to demonstrate how insightful a physical prototype can be at representing the ingenuity of the architectural artefact. It should explain the relationship between materiality, functionality and form while demonstrating how an engineered detail resolution can acquire an iconic character. Our research project is all about the detail, emphasising the relationship between the different fundamentals in architecture, tackling the issue of tectonic syntax that helps to organise the architectural composition. The emblematic character of the engineered solution will be represented through a series of drawings and model.