M.Arch Handbook - Cardiff · PDF fileM.Arch Handbook 2014-15. rc rosects 4 1 Contents ......

Welsh School of Architecture

M.Arch Handbook

2014-15

MArch prospectus 2013/2014 1

Contents

Preface 2

Section 1: Design in the MArch

1.1 Learning in the MArch in general 3

1.2 The character of project work in the MArch 4

1.3 MArch 1 Project work 7

1.4 MArch 2 Project work 8

Section 2: MArch 2 in detail 13

2.1 Design thesis units 2014/2015

XI Tectonics Form and PlaceXII EconomyXIII PoliticsXIV SensationXV Environmental Imagination 1XVII Infrastructural UrbanismXX Environmental Imagination 2:

2.2 Practice, management and economics 28

2.3 Dissertation 28

2.4 Technology 28

2.5 Studio culture and conduct 28

2.6 Integrated work place 28

2.7 Design thesis teachers 30

2.8 Research in the school 32

MArch Programme Guide 2014/2015


The MArch (Master of Architecture) is a taken after the BSc (or equiv-alent qualification from another university). It satisfies Part 2 of the UK professional qualification for architects, and is accredited by the RIBA and ARB.

The first year of the MArch - the Year of Education in Practice - is spent predominantly in architectural practice. It includes three short courses, held in the School, and has a modular structure of associ-ated coursework. The second year of the MArch is spent full-time in the school and takes students to an advanced level of architectural design, integrating drawing and modelling, technical studies and complex questions of culture, politics and economy. It offers an in-tense and lively forum for the exploration and informed discussion of matters of concern for contemporary architecture, and encompasses courses in practice management and economics.

The MArch has always benefited from a well developed educational and carefully programmed framework, which is also responsive and dynamic. This year we welcome new Design Thesis Units and leaders to MArch 2 and new contributors in MArch 1.

Preface

MArch MArch 1 Education in Practice MArch 2 Research through Design Year 1 Year 2

MArch Programme Guide 2014/2015 2



1.1 Learning in the MArch in general

We aim to ensure that graduates are prepared with appropriate knowledge and skills to confront the challenges posed by a dynamic, competitive and changing world. The programme for the MArch as a whole is based on and is responsive to real world issues and agendas, which are explored in a range of contexts and through a variety of research methods and approaches.

The MArch 1 Year of Education in Practice encom-passes three modules, summarised as follows:

AR 4401: Design in PracticeAR 4402: Research PreparationAR 4403: Reflective Practice

The MArch 2, in turn, encompasses three further modules, as follows:

Section 1: Design in the MArch

AR 5001: Design ThesisAR 5002:DissertationAR 5003:Practice Management and Economics

The programme for the two years is developed with a clear sense of the graduate attributes (‘level indicators’) for part 2 which the RIBA places “critical emphasis” upon, as well as of the “general valida-tion criteria” at part 2 (RIBA, 2010).

Detail of the requirements of each of the above modules is provided in briefs, guides and handbooks specific to each, as well as in the relevant module descriptors.




1.2 The character of project work in the MArch

The MArch, with its unique and distinctive structure will bridge the gap between practice and research by strengthening learning outcomes in the two very distinctive years of the course – practice and design practice based research. Project work in the MArch balances the disciplines of design, practice and re-search, with the emphasis on design and practice in MArch 1 and on research and design in MArch 2. In MArch 1, the emphasis will be on acquiring profes-sional design skills and knowledge and, in MArch 2, these will be applied critically through design prac-tice based research as set out below.

1.2.1 MArch 1: education in practice

The initial year of the Masters in Architecture is about reflective learning, conducted whilst gradu-ates are working in professional practice. It is not a ‘year out’ in the traditional sense as students com-plete a full portfolio of academic work during the year. This is in recognition of the joint role that both academia and professional practice can have in the development of the “young” architect.

For many, this year is the first real engagement with professional practice. Aspects of running a practice, bringing in work, dealing with co-professionals and, most importantly, working within a design team are often experienced for the first time. Graduates come to recognise the realities of design project work that is conducted within a context of client needs, eco-nomic realities and regulatory frameworks.

Experience is gained in a wide spectrum of practices ranging from large multinational offices engaged in major multidisciplinary projects, to small practices dealing with local clients. The experience of work-ing for each of these will be different and whilst a smaller practice might afford the graduate greater levels of autonomy and responsibility, larger prac-tices provide opportunities to witness architecture or projects of a more challenging nature.




Graduates may experience a range of stages through different projects. Surveys of buildings or sites, con-tract administration, inspection of work in progress, dealing with queries arising from specifications or drawings all help to develop an understanding of practice. Many students also get the opportunity to engage in the realities of how buildings are made though site visits and through the preparation of detailed drawings. We advise that as far as possible, experience in the office should cover areas which aren’t dealt with in a school of architecture, for example dealing with statutory bodies, design team working, responding to clients or project managers and dealing with contractors and sub-contractors. These all contribute to an awareness of the com-plexities and vagaries of professional practice.

We make no specific requirements as to the type of work graduates complete whilst in practice, but we emphasise the importance of students understand-ing the context of the work they are doing, recog-nising why it might be important and how it relates to the work of colleagues in the office. Rather than basing academic activities around lecture courses and the library, emphasis in the MArch 1 is on devel-oping practice skills and on reflecting on the nature of professional practice. Three one week-long “short courses” are held in September, February and June. Assignments are set which require students to ask their practice supervisors pertinent questions about how the practice operates and to compare this to espoused practice. Issues covered include the procurement of projects, the nature of production information and regulatory approval processes.

In addition to the practice work, we expect gradu-ates to undertake an element of design project work during the year. A “longitudinal” project com-mencing in September and running throughout the academic year focuses upon the development of a scheme from inception to detail.




The project is introduced during the first short course and begins with a detailed feasibility study. From here the project is progressed throughout the entire year and allows the designer to focus in some depth using the resources and expertise that the of-fice and it’s ‘supply chain’ can provide.

Tutorials and reviews are conducted during the short courses. Graduates make initial preparations for their MArch 2 Dissertation through the acqui-sition of research skills and the preparation of a “Literature Review” and “Research Plan” at these courses. During the year, graduates are also asked to reflect carefully on their own personal and profes-sional development. Reflection provides the link be-tween an experience and learning from that experi-ence; providing meaning to something that is often personal and subjective. By reflecting upon experi-ences, the nature of practice and the student’s role within that practice will make more sense and learn-ing will be enhanced. Graduates are asked to com-plete an electronic portfolio where they can docu-ment and reflect upon their experiences. Individuals can view each other’s portfolios which provides a fuller understanding of the breadth of architectural practice, and the nature of the work undertaken.

Master of Architecture Year 1

Autumn Term Spring Term Summer TermDesign in practice 60 credits

Thesis Preparation 20 creditsRefleactive Practice 40 credits

In the context of architectural practice, numerous is-sues and challenges for design and imagination will become apparent. We encourage the use of knowl-edge, ideas, experiences and findings acquired in MArch 1 to inform and shape directions, questions and agendas for MArch 2. Graduates are encour-aged to develop issues that arise in the context of practice into coherent design theses for MArch 2, articulating a learning process through Design in Practice to Design Thesis. It is recognised that this won’t necessarily be a linear process. Graduates are of course encouraged to look beyond the limits of specific practice settings in considering the scope of their MArch 2 work, to reflect on the potential implications of wider contemporary issues for archi-tectural theory and practice - ranging from climate change to rapid urbanisation to questions of social justice, belonging and social cohesion - as on issues and themes in architectural and cultural history. They are encouraged to do this in preparing both for the Design Thesis and the Dissertation.




1.3 MArch 1 project work - AR4401

The design project will run throughout the academic year with feasibility and introductory studies taking place in the September short course and submission and crit in the final June short course.

It is designed to be supported by the experience, knowledge and skills that are acquired incrementally in practice . It is framed as a key tool for acquiring the complement of RIBA part 2 graduate attributes.

The project will run through phases of inception and feasibility through to detailed design, as indicated in the diagram to the right. The following are viewed as the key attributes which will be shaped through this project work:

• ability to evaluate materials, processes and techniques that apply to complex architectural designs and building construction, and to inte-grate these into practicable design proposals.

• understanding of the context of the architect and the construction industry, including the architect’s role in the processes of procurement and building production, and under legislation.

• problem solving skills, professional judgement, and ability to take the initiative and make appro-priate decisions in complex and unpredictable circumstances; and,

• ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for qualification as an architect.

Inception and feasibility Autumn

Outline Design Spring

Detail Design Spring/Summer

Design for performance Summer




1.4 MArch 2 Project work: a design thesis (AR 5001)

MArch 2 is organised around the “Design Thesis”, which has a long history in architectural education, having figured in institutions as diverse as the Ecole des Beaux Arts and the Bauhaus. It remains a strong tradition in architectural education, not least at the Welsh School. It has been historically, and remains, an opportunity for students in school to demon-strate their abilities and take a stand in the discipline before beginning life as an architect in practice. Not-withstanding, the synthetic and propositional skills which it develops are valuable resources for a wide range of settings beyond practice.

The Design Thesis provides an opportunity for grad-uates to formulate an intellectual position through and perhaps also regarding architectural design. Architecture can ‘say’ whatever you want it to – but it must be responsive to work that has gone before, accepting or rejecting it knowledgeably. Architec-ture is a research activity and the design proposition should demonstrate the research which underpins it: cultural, social, formal, political, technological, contextual, tectonic, environmental, historical, phil-osophical, economic. In synthesising these design contexts and developing a propositional response,

thesis projects will be able to proclaim intellectual architectural positions.

The main project of the ‘Design Thesis’ may be sup-plemented by preparatory work or a ‘primer’ pro-ject which may substantiate and help in defining the design hypothesis or question.

A thesis denotes a reasoned argument. A research-led architectural proposition should set out a clear and cogent argument. It should demonstrate the reasoning and evidence which support it. It should show coherence of purpose – and is therefore sys-tematic and methodical. Any representation should be well structured and be robust enough to with-stand testing through criticism and review.

Unlike the undergraduate education, it is the gradu-ate in collaboration with staff who sets the param-eters and extends the possibilities of the design pro-ject. And, unlike in the undergraduate years – where Technology, History, Theory, Urban Design and Economics are presented in separate courses along-side design studio – there is no such separation in MArch 2. The Design Thesis should demonstrate the

Master of Architecture Year 2

Autumn Term Spring Term Summer TermDesign Thesis 110 creditsConsisting ofDissertation 30 creditsDesign Component 80 credits(inc diagnostic project)Practice management and economics 10 credits




fundamental integration of the many facets of archi-tecture. The emphasis in the final Design Thesis is on the graduate’s own initiative and responsibility. The educational framework set by the MArch team will help graduates develop the thesis and provide opportunities to work with like-minded colleagues in and as a Unit.

The school is not prone to projects that rest on self-indulgence. Architecture has moral and ethical responsibilities. As already suggested above, the Design Thesis must be rooted in a serious question or questions. The choice of question and details of resolution will be determined through the particular processes adopted by each Unit. Investigations may focus on a social need or economic situation, on the distinctive character of a particular site. Architecture might derive from a particular material or materials, from phenomenal qualities of light, sound or touch, and much else besides. The MArch also demands that design propositions should be grounded in the needs of the real world. The issue is not only “can you have an idea?” but “can you make the idea work?” in the contexts of inhabitation, site, climate, culture and feasible technologies. The school be-lieves that such pragmatism is not inhibiting. Ar-chitects must be able to deliver their speculations and do so responsibly. From necessity, we believe, comes richness - in the need to compromise and communicate, to accompany ideas into real life situ-ations. In this respect, your project should be con-spicuously made.

Professional architecture is an expert practice, and the elegant resolution of the thesis demonstrates expertise. The school of architecture, and staff and collaborators have international reputations in their respective fields of specialism. It is to the advantage of the graduate to engage with these fields and specialists. It is also important to collaborate with




colleagues in a studio environment. For these rea-sons, the design module is organised around shared learning in a number of Units.

Each Unit will normally have a maximum of ten students working together. Graduates may choose from a number of themes. We try our hardest to ensure that each student has at least her or his first or second choice of Unit.

The idea of a year group, or ‘cohort’, remains im-portant in MArch 2. The year comes to together frequently sharing lectures, seminars and crits as appropriate, and work broadly to the same timeta-ble. Graduates are encouraged to pay attention to Units other than their own, to spend time together, and to learn from what each other is doing. Note should be made, however, that individual Units set criteria and will work, develop and progress in dif-ferent ways throughout the year and to attempt to

gauge personal progress through direct comparison is not always helpful.

In the UK, the Arts and Humanities Research Board (now Council) (AHRB, 2000) defined research pri-marily in terms of research processes rather than outputs. This definition is built around three key features of any doctoral research proposal:It must define a series of research questions or problems that will be addressed in the course of the research. It must also define its objectives in terms of seeking to enhance knowledge and understand-ing relating to the questions or problems to be ad-dressed.

It must specify a research context for the questions or problems to be addressed. It must specify why it is important that these particular questions or prob-lems should be addressed, what other research is being or has been conducted in this area and what




particular contribution this project will make to the advancement of creativity, insights, knowledge and understanding in this area.

It must specify the research methodology for ad-dressing and answering the research questions or identified problems. In the course of the research project, how to seek to answer the questions, or ad-vance available knowledge and understanding of the problems must be shown. The graduate is expected to be able to explain the rationale for the chosen research methodology.

Creative output can be produced, or practice under-taken, as an integral part of the research process. However, the outcomes of practice must be accom-panied by documentation of the research process, as well as some form of textual analysis or explana-tion to support its position and to demonstrate criti-cal reflection. A thesis arising from a practice-based research process is expected to both show evidence of original scholarship and to contain material that will be written and exhibited.

The MArch 2 Design Thesis and the accompanying dissertation may be linked to one another. The dis-sertation may then act as critical commentary cover-ing aspects of design and contextualising design within the broader issues of the subject area. More information on the precise specification of this piece of work win provided in the Dissertation Handbook and relevant module descriptor.

With regard to meeting the eleven General Criteria at parts 1 and 2 above, the part 2 will be awarded to students who have:

1. ability to generate complex design proposals showing understanding of current architectural issues, originality in the application of subject knowledge and, where appropriate, to test new




•Critical awareness•High level of visual thinking and representation•Processes and solutions informed by the forefront of the discipline of architectural design.

Projects will be developed that fall into one of sever-al thematic Design Thesis Units. These Units are led by tutors who are equipped to assist students trans-late ideas into programmes and realisable architec-tural proposals. The themes offered are expected to be founded on areas of research and expertise that are established and can be supported from within the School. Specialist advice from outside the School will supplement the work of each thematic studio.

As specific outcomes will necessarily vary between units, unit tutors will map their aims and envisaged outcomes against the general attributes and criteria in their extended unit briefs in October.

The distinctive nature of each Unit has been evident in the various exhibitions we have held in recent years and we look forward to seeing this continue this coming year.

hypotheses and speculations;

2. ability to evaluate and apply a comprehensive range of visual, oral and written media to test, analyse, critically appraise and explain design proposals;

3. ability to evaluate materials, processes and techniques that apply to complex architectural designs and building construction, and to inte-grate these into practicable design proposals;

4. a critical understanding of how knowledge is advanced through research to produce clear, logically argued and original written work relat-ing to architectural culture, theory and design;

5. understanding of the context of the architect and the construction industry, including the architect’s role in the processes of procurement and building production, and under legislation;

6. problem solving skills, professional judgement, and ability to take the initiative and make appro-priate decisions in complex and unpredictable circumstances; and

7. ability to identify individual learning needs and understand the personal responsibility required to prepare for qualification as an architect.

We have staff expertise to support and provide de-sign leadership within these themes and the written work.

The project work of this year will be aimed at the higher level of creative ambition. Therefore the level and complexity of the problem set for and tackled by each student will be of a sufficiently high order to enable the following levels of achievement:

•Systematic knowledgeMArch Programme Guide 2014/2015 12



2.1 Design thesis units 2014/2015The themes of the Units are part of the diverse and rich research agenda that exists at the Welsh School of Architecture. These themes also respond to the world in which architecture will be practiced, and as the UK construction industry recovers from the effect of the global banking crisis, and yet as pub-lic spending restrictions continue, architects must equip ourselves to respond. Architectural education at this level in the Welsh School Architecture must be responsive to these conditions.

The Design Thesis Units for 2014/2015 are as fol-lows:

XI Tectonics: Form and PlaceXII EconomyXIII PoliticsXIV SensationXV Environmental Imagination 1XVII Infrastructural UrbanismXX Environmental Imagination 2:


Welsh School of ArchitectureSection 2: MArch 2 in detail


XI Tectonics: Form and Place

Unit leader: Kate Darby

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. –Marcel Proust.

Discoveries are made through the act of making that cannot be anticipated in the code space of an architectural drawing. In this unit we aim to develop an architectural language that links place and material through experimentation with a real material at 1:1 and the construction of ‘body scale’ structures in actual sites. Using this methodology we hope to create an architecture that is place specific and that begins to reflect the extraordinary variation and richness that occur in the natural world around us.

The starting point for the year’s investigations will be a forest landscape, primarily as a source of construction material. The Wyre forest comprises 6,000ha of ancient woodland. Intensively managed for charcoal production throughout the early industrial revolution to supply fuel for the smelting of iron in the Black Country, it has since been without purpose. There are hundreds of hectares of singled coppiced oak, 120yrs old and ready to harvest and yet there is no real market for this timber. Wooded landscapes and timber constructions are embedded in the cultural traditions of the UK and until the 18th century we had a full complement of skills working the timber supply chain from foresters to ship builders however since the industrial revolution these skills have been lost and the innovations in timber construction today are in softwood and from climates and landscapes that favour the growth of high quality coniferous timber such as Scandinavia, Austria and Switzerland. We will be exploring a full spectrum of ways in which timber from an indigenous UK forest can be used in construction from the visceral to the practical, from the poetic to the innovative and in doing so look at the impact this could have on the future landscape of the forest.

Your site will be determined by a journey along a railway line from Birmingham to Arley on the the edge of the Wyre that has been chosen to include a range of different urban scales in which you can test the possibilities of this untapped source of Wyre forest timber. At one end of this route is Moor Street train station on the edge of Digbeth in the centre of Birmingham, at the other is St George’s Farm a small holding owned by the Guild of St George, a charity endowed by John Ruskin to promote his utopian and cultural ideals. This site is currently standing empty and is available to us as a resource for workshops and talks throughout the year.

Phase 1

With the support of the Guild of St George and the use of their site in the Wyre we will learn about the forest structure, its archaeology and history. We will then carry out a number

of material investigations starting with solid timber extracted from the forest and explore the effect of different processes such as laminating, 3-d scanning or modelling with WSA’s new 3 axis cnc machine. In parallel we will map selected sites along the Birmingham-Wyre rail link to be used as a group resource and possible sites for a material intervention.

Phase 2

Building on ideas from phase 1 you will be asked to design and construct a body scale building fragment using timber from the Wyre forest designed to reveal or enable some aspect of this place or the material you are using. This structure will act as both a primer for your thesis proposal and a prototype for a building design. It will be an opportunity to test ideas, explore your site and make discoveries.

Phase 3

From January you will develop your thesis with further opportunities to prototype and explore the material characteristics of your project. In designing a building, you will also be designing a forest. You will be asked to describe what kind of forest landscape would supply the timber you need and to speculate on the long term consequences of using a material that takes over a lifetime to grow. We will discuss the relationship between a forest environment and an urban one and look at the role of trees within our cities. Your sites will all be within 25miles of this huge timber resource and you will be asked to critique the relationship between material and place in a global economy where ‘locally produced’ is no longer synonymous with ‘cheap’. All projects will require some detailed tectonic resolution however the scale of the projects will vary according to the strategic ambition of individual theses.




References:

Alexander, C., Notes on the Synthesis of Form. Harvard University Press, 1964.

Brislin, P (Guest-Ed.),Human Experience and Place. AD no.220. Nov/Dec 2012 (in particular Derakhshani, Farokh Appropriating Reclaiming and Inventing Identity through Architecture pp. 29-33.

Bridge, A. Oliver, P. and Vellinga,M. Atlas of Vernacular Architecture of the World.

Clifford, S. and King, A. England in Particular. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 2006. Local Distinctiveness. Common Ground, 1993.

Frazer, J., An Evolutionary Architecture, Themes VII. London: Architectural Association Publications, 1995.

Macfarlane, Robert, The Wild Places. Granta Books London (2007)




Marseille has been a port city for centuries. Since its foundation by Greeks, the cité phocéenne has benefited from its privileged location between Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa, basing its economic activities on the maritime traffic. In the nineteenth century, Marseille became one of the most important industrial ports in the world, specialized in the production and marketing of hydrocarbons (Bertrand 2012, 223).

After the Second World War, the city began a slow decline caused by economic and urban damages brought by the conflict, the independence of the colonies and increased international competitiveness. From the sixties, a strong imbalance was produced between the industrial expansion of the metropolitan area and the abandonment of the city, which lost productive activities, employment and population (Urbain 2012, 82-85). The industrial architecture, the most important cultural heritage of the city, fell into ruins.

The Project Euroméditerranée (1995-2015), led by public administrations and funded by the EU, emerged as a new economic and urban strategy to overcome this degradation process. The plan did not foresee further expansion of the territory of Marseille and has focused on the regeneration of the existing urban fabric from a compact city model.

The economic crisis led to a paradigmatic shift in the regeneration model from iconic, expensive and unsustainable architectures of Euromed I to the strategies of social equity, respect for the environment and economic development of Euromed II (2008-2030), from easy-tech and low- cost criteria (Euroméditerranée, Dossier de presse 2011, 5).

The aim of Euromed II plan is the urban and social regeneration of the northern district, which had become a deprived and marginal area after the decline of industry in the 60s.

One of the most innovative aspects of Euroméditérranée II is the use of tangible and intangible heritage of the city as a catalyst for urban regeneration. While in Euromed I most of the industrial buildings were demolished, in Euromed II the most interesting industrial structures have been recovered and integrated in the project, not only from an historic preservation perspective, but also as a tool for economic, social and cultural development.

Special attention was paid to the deprived neighbourhoods of Les Crottes and Vintimille, where social participation strategies were developed in order to integrate their urban fabric and inhabitants into the project, respecting their multicultural identity.

One of the main strategies envisaged by the plan for the development of the economy and employment of the area

is the recovery of the flea market, a strategic space for the cultural heritage and the identity of the city.

The Flea Market of Marseille (Le Marche aux Puces)

In 1988, the municipality acquired the abandoned industrial site of Alsthom factory in the north area of Marseille and created a new shopping centre for the north district. The aim was the reorganisation and legalization of the informal flea market which had been extended over the surrounding streets without any health and safety regulations.

Today, the place attracts 30,000 people every week and is a haven for the whole district, completing a remarkable social function with the creation of 1,000 jobs.

A mosque has been installed into the site, various associations are based there, different traders and customers from different national and religious backgrounds interact together in a relaxed and respectful environment.

The flea market is currently a real economic and social driver for the northern districts. It needs to be reorganized to improve its health, safety and accessibility conditions, to provide a better service and to reinforce its integration within the neighbourhood.

Within the Euromed II framework, the flea market is located in a strategic location between the new park of the Aygalades towards the east, the new waterfront over the highway on its west side and linked to the existing neighbourhood of Les Crottes to the south.

The Euromed II Urban regeneration project of the architect Francois Leclerc has foreseen the articulation of the flea market along Capitaine Geize avenue, a new important east-west axis for new city services. The flea market also will be upgraded and integrated into the new XXL block, which will host an arena, a large public square and hotels.

The Unit

The aim of the unit will be to understand from a critical perspective the current mutation processes of the north area of Marseille, through the development of recycling intervention strategies and the design of an innovative and economically feasible programme for the flea market. This building, which is now the main centre of informal economy of the area, could be transformed into one of the most important economic, social and symbolic catalysts for the recovery of the existing urban and social fabric, in coordination with the Euromed II strategies.

Students will be asked to develop a design thesis based on their research that could be translated into a coherent urban, spatial and tectonic strategy, as an innovative post-industrial

XII Economy

Unit leader: Federico WulffEuromed Unit




proposal from social and environmental perspectives. We will explore concepts such as informality, flexibility, resilience, economic feasibility, temporality, mutability over time, identity, community participation, and the interaction between contemporary culture and industrial heritage.

In the first term, we will develop research into the existing urban and social context of the north district, the strategic lines of Euromediterranee II for the area and we will understand the complexity of the intervention site, including a morphological, structural and construction reading of the existing building.

This analytical phase will form the basis for the development of an intervention strategy that will be set up before Christmas. During the second term, you will develop the project in coherence with this urban scale analysis, the morphological and structural design strategy and the construction details, which should be the outcomes of the same global, homogeneous and coherent strategy of your project. Your analysis for and through design will be informed by reading, and below are a set of suggestions. To start you off.

References

Rapport d’activités. Marseille: Euroméditerranée (Marseille: Euromediterranee, 2012). (English transl. Ed.).

Ecocité Marseille-Euroméditerranée. Dossier De Presse. Signature du protocole financier. (Marseille: Euroméditerranée, 2011). (English transl. Ed.).

Laurent Andres, ‘Alternative initiatives, cultural intermediaries and urban regeneration: the case of La Friche (Marseille)’, European Planning Studies, 5, (2011). 795-811.

Nishat Awan, Tatjana Schneider , Jeremy Till, Spatial Agency: Other Ways of Doing Architecture, (London: Routledge, 2011).

Keith Bassett, Ron Griffiths and Ian Smith, ‘Testing governance: partnerships, planning and conflict in waterfront regeneration’, Urban Studies 39 (2002), 1757–1775.

Allan Berger, Drosscapes, Wasting Land in Urban America, (New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2007).

Brigitte Bertoncello, Jerome Dubois, Marseille Euroméditerranéen, accélérateur de métropole. (Marseille: Parenthèse, 2010).

Stalking Detroit, ed. by Georgia Daskalakis, Charles Waldheim, Jason Young (Barcelona: Actar, 2001).

David Harvey, Spaces of Hope, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2000).

Irene Marotta, ‘Euroméditerranée II a new sustainable model’, in

Proceedings of 2nd International Symposium “Systems thinking for a sustainable economy” January 23-24, 2014 – (Rome: Universitas Mercatorum University Press).

Shrinking Cities Vol.1 International Research, ed. by Oswalt Phillip, (Berlin: Kulturstiftung des Bundes, Hatje Cantz, 2005).

Urban Ecology. Detroit and Beyond, ed. by Kyong Park (Hong Kong: Map Book Publishers, 2005).

George Perec, Species of Spaces and other Pieces, (New York: Penguin Books, 1997).

Resilience in Ecology and Urban Design: Linking Theory and Practice for Sustainable Cities, Future City Series, 3, ed. by S.T.A Pickett and others. (New York: Springer, 2013).

Anne Power, Jörg Plöger, and Astrid Winkler, Phoenix Cities: The Fall and Rise of Great Industrial Cities (Bristol: Policy Press, 2010).

Paul Urbain, ‘La possibilité d’une ville’, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, 389, (2012), 82-88. (English transl. Ed.).

Edward W. Soja, Postmodern Geographies, The reassertion of space in critical social theory. (New York: Verso, 1998).

Ignasi Sola-Morales, ‘Terrain Vague’ in Territorios, (Barcelona: G.G., 1995), pp.181-193.

Dylan Trigg, ‘The Uncanny Space of Decay’, Psy-Geo Provfl ux, 1, (1) (2004) <http://www.pipsworks.com./crosswalk/prov04/c1dylan_2.html>

Anthony Vidler, The Architectural Uncanny, (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1992).

Anthony Vidler, Warped Space, (Cambridge MA: MIT Press, 2000).




XIII Politics

Unit leader: Jacob Hotz

This unit deals with an integral discussion of economic, political (> “political philosophy”) and urban questions:

Our investigation first, will mainly focus on issues of “Political Philosophy” and its impact on the built environ-ment within the urban and suburban context, therefore stipulating a design thesis, nourished by theory and its contradictory offspring: “Politics”.

(Sketch by Gustav Peichl, ironimus)

The goal of this UNIT shall be to formulate alternatives by the outcome of an architectural proposal(s), condens-ing it (them) into a manifestation of “architectural form” and “political strategies”…as a unique contribution, worthy of discussion within Academia, the Professional World and Society.

Why are we talking about “Political Philosophy” and not about politics?

The answer to this is rather simple — because we want to talk about the basics of political behavioural systems

in general and not only about how daily politics prosti-tutes itself, beyond its fundamentals, denying its origins in philosophical thinking, in context of history and pres-ence.

Daily politics, its performance and its outcomes seem to be of a rather bizarre nature, loaded with contradictions against provided theories and belief systems; neverthe-less, this is part of our daily experience. In all this, the rock in the sewage shall be intellectual discourse, based on Political Philosophy.

Political philosophy by David Miller 1998, Routledge Encyclopaedia of Philosophy:

Political philosophy can be defined as philosophical reflection on how best to arrange our collective life - our political institutions and our social practices, such as our economic system and our pattern of family life. (Sometimes a distinction is made between political and social philosophy, but I shall use ‘political philosophy’ in a broad sense to include both.) Political philosophers seek to establish basic principles that will, for instance, justify a particular form of state, show that individuals have certain inalienable rights, or tell us how a society’s material resources should be shared among its members. This usually involves analysing and interpreting ideas like freedom, justice, authority and democracy and then applying them in a critical way to the social and political institutions that currently exist. Some political philoso-phers have tried to justify the prevailing arrangements of their society; others have painted pictures of an ideal state or an ideal social world that is very different from anything we have so far experienced (see Utopianism).

Therefore this UNIT deals mainly with (objects of) evo-lution, rather than revolution on the basis of rational thinking processes, taking on board the work of three im-portant contributors in this field; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Hans Bernoulli and Theodor Ludwig Wiesengrund (also known as Theodor W. Adorno).

The following three books will help us building up an argumentative tool box as the base and guide within our investigations by theory and design:




• Capital: Critique of Political Economy by Karl Marx (first published 1867 in German, English Version edit-ed by Frederick Engels 1887, close friend of Karl etc.)

• Towns and the Land by Hans Bernoulli (first pub-lished 1946, Erlenbach-Zurich)

• Aesthetic Theory by T.W. Adorno (first published and ultimately published posthumously in 1970)

The first two books are mainly concerned with issues of ownership and economy and the last one might become the unifying ground within contemporary issues of the visual arts in society. All have implications for design as it engages with, responds to, and also depends on broader economic and political contexts.

To my understanding, Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory has taken and over formed main principles of evolutionary thinking, as stipulated by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (> full circle is established).

Further readings of Jean Paul Sartre’s writings are recom-mended in order to expand your understanding of these notions.

Note:

It is of importance that you make yourself familiar with the contents of the three books mentioned above at the start of the academic year, in order to be able to use them to formulate the basis of your design thesis.

Schedule

Phase 1

The first three weeks of the academic year are dedicat-ed to the task of getting acquainted with the proposed literature and another two weeks after this are reserved for making an installation to explore your primary ideas based on your understanding of the theory in question and your stand within architectural and visual art ideas.

This first five weeks is crucial, in terms of investment to transcend in formulating your design thesis as an ab-stract at least (personal research area, aim, brief of an suitable abstract location and programme direction etc.), producing a vision worthy to discuss and share with the professional community, the one involved in our doings as architects and/or future architects!

Phase 2

After these five weeks, the main design process will start. You will find out by choosing your site within an urban and/or sub-urban context , that Bernoulli’s contribution might be key (…mapping, economy and ownership…) besides other important factors… as a starting point.

Phase two is dedicated to the formulation of your brief in accordance with your chosen site. It is the phase where an urban strategy shall become developed (big scale), tested within the first stages of developing an urban plan and your informed ideas (development strategies & tac-tics >>> “design guide”). Phase 2 will end in early January 2015.

Phase 3

Phase three will take on board all draft ideas from the previous phases, which means that we start up a design process in loops in reference to previous stages by focus-ing on a test area, test building and or conglomerate of buildings, in order to apply the design thesis to a smaller scale but with high resolution.



MArch prospectus 2013/2014 20MArch Programme Guide 2014/2015 20


XIV Sensation

Unit leader: Jonathan Adams

Consider everything in your environment that influences the way that you feel, and therefore the way that you behave and the way that you interact with other people.

What kind of environment makes you feel comfortable? What kind makes you uneasy? What kind of environment makes you feel uplifted? What kind do you find oppres-sive?

The theme of the studio is Sensation: how the design of places and spaces influences the senses, the emotions and the behaviour of people and how it effects that ways that people interact. The studio will make some challeng-ing demands of students, the most important being that they are able to analyse their own feelings about archi-tecture with rigour and honesty, and that they will be willing to engage with the general public in a direct and meaningful way.

Our discipline began as an experiment in sensory ma-nipulation, and it is in this area, still, that architecture’s greatest mystery and greatest potential resides. You, as an architect, have the power to influence the senses, the emotions and the behaviour of people to an extent that artists in other media can only dream of.

The experience of movement through a sequence of spaces, is also powerfully synonymous with primal struc-

ture of narrative: the idea of ‘logical’ progression and satisfying resolution. Beginning middle and end. Every threshold represents a transition: what happens to us when we cross such lines?

A ‘functional programme’ can illustrate how spaces should work together, but it will say little about how the occupants will feel or how they will behave.

These under-currents are present in every single building that we make, but they are rarely at the forefront of ar-chitects’ thinking and as a consequence, the underlying message of many public spaces often feels at-odds with the architects’ intentions.

The ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ is a common concept in the performing arts, describing the phenomenon by which the collective members of an audience, influenced by each other, enter into the fictional world of the per-formance and experience genuine, ‘real world’ emotions.

As architects, when we create spaces for people to inhabit, in effect we give them the same opportunity as performers offer their audience. The spaces that we design are idealised representations of untamed, primor-dial places that inhabit the fringes of our imagination. By superimposing structure and architectural narrative onto our environment we are providing reassurance to

Roman theatre, Orange, France, 1st Century AD



ourselves and others that our existence has meaning and purpose.

Primer: Installation Project

The Installation Project will commence at Week 2 and run through to the end of Week 8 It will require students to observe and record the responses, the behaviour and the interaction of people – including themselves – within a significant public space. After analysing and recording public interaction, students will be asked to make a sim-ple physical intervention – an installation - that modifies their subject space in a meaningful way. Students will observe and record how the public interacts with their installation, and will be free to swap locations or make changes as appropriate in order to learn as much as pos-sible about the impact of their intervention.

The installations must be constructed in Week 7. This timescale is critical because the Installation Project will be part of the City’s ‘Cardiff Contemporary’ public art festival, and will be advertised in the festival programme.

Main Thesis Project:

The studio theme will be explored through the design of buildings for the performing arts. This is an ideal building type through which to investigate how architecture in-fluences senses, emotions and behaviour because every theatre, however large or small, is:

• A social fulcrum: a place that brings people together to share a collective experience

• A complex working environment with many technical design challenges to resolve

• A civic cynosure: representing the civic aspirations of the people they serve, and a barometer of the health of their community.

Furthermore, each theatre contains a threshold, the part-physical and part-imaginary line between the back-of-house and the front-of-house which is, itself, a meta-phor for the difference between the ‘real world’ and the idealised world of architectural space.

During Weeks 9 and 10 students will be required to se-lect their own site (preferably in a location that is conve-nient to visit from Cardiff), and to develop an outline pro-gramme based on the studio theme. The Thesis Project will be developed and completed during the course of Terms 2 and 3.

Students should consider who their client might be. It could be an existing performing arts company or an imagined new company. This could be a production com-pany – creating and presenting its own work in situ. Or it could be a managing company that offers its facilities to a wide range of visiting productions. Or it could be some-thing entirely new and different…

Students will be encouraged to stretch the theme as far as they wish, to encompass defined space, implied space and illusory space; and from the landscape to the subconscious mind – provided that the technical require-ments for Part II are met, as listed below.

References

The Language of Space

Bryan Lawson

Architectural Press 2001

Theatre and Playhouse: An Illustrated Survey of Theatre Building from Ancient Greece to the Present Day

Richard Leacroft

Methuen 1984

History of the Theatre

O.G.Brockett & F. Hildy

Pearson 2008 (10th Edition)

Theatre Buildings: A Design Guide

Ed. Judith Strong

A.B.T.T. 2010 (NB this is a technical guide)

Architecture and Narrative: The Formation of Space and Cultural Meaning

Sophia Psarra

Routledge 2009


This Unit was founded on the creative potential of ar-chitectural science combining with more sensory (phe-nomenological), and cultural characteristics of place. This was once the default setting in the wsa as well as for a number of great architects – Aalto, Corbusier et al - but recently the reversion to the two distinct and separated traditions of the applied sciences v the humanities (with a few exceptions see Hawkes D. The Environmental Tradi-tion and The Environmental Imagination) has been quite marked in practice and within schools of architecture.The quest of this Unit is to re-kindle and build on these traditions.

Probing architectural design through questions of history and culture as much of technology the Unit results to date demonstrate that an integrated creative response may result in great architecture.In 2013 ‘Ambience’ was the title for the Unit and the starting points were critical analysis and development of highly tuned sensibilities and skills in creating atmos-pheric places.

Last year, 2014, the two primary pre-occupations of atmosphere and place were linked to particularities of landscape raising questions of the nature of an architec-ture which may be responsive to weather and geography.

Weather (distinguished from Climate) was linked to Coast within the areas of the Shipping Forecast. This year attention turns to the phenomena of Northern Light where the particular prevailing conditions of light in the higher latitudes have inspired and given rise to some of the most influential architecture of the modern period.

Extreme variations in season present swings in the amount of illumination. Long dark of gloomy winter months are followed by summer months when daylight creeps toward midnight. The angle of the sun in low alti-tudes also adds to specific characteristics of long shad-ows. Refracted colours and a high ratio of reflected light from ground and more critically water.

Sciagraphy is pursued beyond orthodox geometric pro-jection. One of the qualities of Northern Light is that in winter it is almost horizontal, and at certain times comes from below the horizon line. Added to this is the speed of weather variation encountered in north-western fac-ing coastal parts of the British Isles and Ireland and the subtleties of the work of architects such as Tuomey and O’Donnell and Richard Murphy in dealing with climate and topography and construction to match patterns of inhabitation come to the fore. Matching painters whp preceeded them and who ob-served and depicted these subtle conditions of natural light modified by weather conditions of natural light modified by weather, architects found ways to manipu-late building form an building envelope to collect, filter and modify and allocate daylight and sunlight.

One thinks immediately of the Scandinavian countries and the work of architects such as Leverentz, Leiviska, in particular where the ethereal nature of light, seasonal differences and the heightened sensibility to the material has been combined to poetic effect.

Candidates for this Unit should have a real and demon-strable (through portfolio) interest in the visual envi-ronment, atmosphere and place and high-level skills in representation and draftsmanship. A background knowl-edge of the principles of daylighting and a willingness to experiment and test ideas through drawing and physical modeling will also be important. Much, but not all of this will centre around the school’s Sky and Heliodon, situ-ated next door to studio.

Whilst some may claim the Sky and Heliodon and physi-cal modelling have been cast aside, and the processes of hand and eye and the employment of real material – ‘stuff’ are on the wane, rendered all but obsolete by a digitally driven culture. This Unit will resist this without advocating total resistance to the digital age - that would be mad – but there is a Welsh School of Architecture way of finding out how combining the best of the analogue – the sensibilities that we have for the things, with the

XV Environmental Imagination 1

Unit leader: Wayne ForsterNorthern Light




digital – just as there used to be wsa way of combining science and art?

We may be numbered amongst those recalcitrant mate-rialists, found mainly in the world of music, fine art and photography, and notable pockets of resistance residing in a hardcore of well-known and rightly critically ac-claimed architects including Peter Zumthor, Renzo Piano and Sean Godsell amongst others and backed up by a number of critics such as Juhani Pallasmaa and Richard Sennett.




GHOSTS

The Uruguayan architect Eladio Dieste explored large shell structures as an architecture for a series of commis-sions for new industry and public works. The architecture used curved geometric and serpentine forms to create very thin and economical large span structures for works such as a brick factory and a bus station. His projects used unskilled labour and became a focus for social cohesion.

Anton Gaudi used physical modelling techniques to de-termine how loads travel in complex vaulting structures for the Segrada Familia church in Barcelona. He made a series of chain models that hung from a frame, which outlined the catenary of primary load paths in relation to gravity. He was able to determine which of the vaulting ribs transferred load to the ground by their curvature, and which rib structures needed buttressing against the projected load path that sprung outside of the rib form as in Gothic architecture.

The programme of building stadia across the country for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was supposed to provide a legacy and social focus for the poor. In a similar idea for East London, it was anticipated that the structures would serve as a regeneration tool, a legacy of the London Olympics.

What are the strategies employed when embedding large-scale structures in settlements where the archi-tecture becomes a focus for community cohesion? One thinks of the building of the Emirates Stadium for Ar-senal, and many of those other Premier League foot-ball clubs that are rebuilt in densely populated areas, including the Millenium Stadium in the heart of Cardiff, although its constituency has a national focus not local membership. The environment of the stadium includes public facilities and offices - a commuter environment - its immediate surroundings blighted by the need to organize large numbers of visitors.

Unit XVII Infrastructural Urbanism Unit leader: Peter Salter




The work of the studio is underpinned by what Chris Reed describes as the ”Appropriation of `Infrastructural Strategies and Ecological Tactics for new Civic Pro-grammes ” : “While conceived as rational, absolute and utilitarian, infrastructure has the capacity to be appropri-ated and transformed towards social, cultural, ecological and artistic ends… architecture and landscape can ap-propriate the utility and serviceability of infrastructure..One could imagine landscape/architectural /urbanistic projects conceived as functional infrastructure, ecologi-cal machines that process and perform public spaces that literally ”work”.

The remaining pit towns in the Heads of the Valleys, South Wales, were the first settlements in Britain to receive regeneration funding after the closure of the coal mines in Thatcher’s Britain. Regeneration has not been seen to be successful, as poverty, ill-health, lack of aspi-ration and job losses have returned to these once proud townships. The M4 corridor has helped Cardiff and the other south coast towns to grow and regenerate. There is a north-south divide between Cardiff and the Heads of the Valley settlements. Cardiff is becoming a conurbation swallowing jobs and funding, with increased transport links and mobility. A strategy for debate before the Welsh Assembly, is for the Valleys to become part of the Cardiff conurbation. Cynics say that this is largely a financial strategy to gather further funds. It is likely that in such circumstances these settlements would lose their identi-ties and offer little to solve the chronic problems of their inhabitants.

The Infrastructural Urbanism studio has declared that a new authority called The Heads of the Valley Authority should be formed to begin rebalancing inequalities and nurture identity.

The Brynmawr Rubber Company complex was pulled down in a controversial move in 2001; all that is left of the architecture is a substation. This structure has a fine concrete vaulted roof - all that remains of the overall vocabulary of an outstanding architecture.



The Year’s Work

On the site of the Brynmawr Rubber Factory the studio will explore the possibility of a design for a new large-scale shell structure in the manner of Eladio Dietse or Anton Gaudi, as an architectural complex that nurtures social cohesion and begins to redress the loss of identity and ambition for the Heads of the Valley. This will neces-sarily require new and improved transport links and com-munity buildings.

The year will begin with individual explorations of shell structures, using the studio’s structural chain armature in the manner of Gaudi’s hanging model. It is hoped to consult a specialist shell structure designer to help with the term’s work.


In this Unit the proposition of an M4 relief road across the historic landscape of the Gwent and Wentloog levels is countered by a combination of architecture, landscape and soft engineering.

The Gwent Levels are an extensive low lying area of es-tuarine alluvium located on the north side of the Severn estuary in south-east Wales between Cardiff and the River Rhymney in the west and Chepstow on the River Wye in the east.

Described as Britains’s Mississipi, the River Severn largely forms the boundary between South East Wales and England. Between the hills that roll down from the North and the River is an area of fenland known as the levels. Here the River has the second biggest tidal range in the world.

The Levels are a landscape of extraordinarily diverse en-vironmental and archaeological potential. Although they are an important wetland resource in their own right, archaeologically the area contains a variety of landscapes of different dates, and nowhere else is it possible to make the period distinctions so easily.

Having been reclaimed from the sea at various times dur-ing the historic period, the present land surface is a good example of a ‘hand-crafted’ landscape, artificially created and entirely the work of man, preserving clear evidence of distinctive patterns of settlement, enclosure and drainage systems. However, because of recurrent phases of inundation and alluviation, there is also a proven, and quite possibly vast, potential for extensive, buried, waterlogged, archaeological and environmental deposits belonging to the earlier landscapes, which extend be-yond the seawalls and banks into the intertidal mudflats. The Levels are therefore a uniquely rich archaeological and historical resource in Wales, and certainly of interna-tional importance and significance.

Parts have been designated as Sites of Scientific Interest and are registered as a Historic Landscape of Outstanding Historic Interest in Wales.

This all now threatened by two impending events – a new relief motorway for the existing M4 and climate change. Welsh Government plans to build a new motor-way that will cut through four sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) and sever, disrupt and isolate large parts of the levels. This is in spite of much opposition. The coun-ter-projects that will emerge from within the Unit will set out to minimize impact on the landscape, enhance the awareness of this cultural landscape but achieve the same results in terms of transport relief.

XV Environmental Imagination 2

Unit leader: Wayne ForsterOn the Level




2.2 Practice, management and economics (AR5003)The 10 credit PM & E module has two parts: Law and Economics. The Economics part is further di-vided into a short block course, and consultancies for the final design. A full and balanced final design thesis will reflect a sound understanding of building need, function, funding, cost, revenue and (above all) value. It will also reflect understanding of con-struction operations. General knowledge of the con-struction industry and the socioeconomic context of development should underlie such understand-ing. Three economics consultancies will take place in spring and summer terms, spaced at intervals through the process of design.

2.3 Dissertation (AR5002)The 30 credit dissertation module enables students to gain experience in research methods and to de-velop a critical appreciation of a body of knowledge via rigorous study of a selected aspect of architec-ture. Often, the dissertation topic informs the choice of design thesis. Students pursue a selected aspect of architecture, drawing on research expertise in the school. Dissertation writing involves distilling an argument based on literature reviews, the con-sidered selection of research methods, analysis and interpretation of results.

2.4 TechnologyArchitectural technology teaching is integrated with the design projects, and specialist advice is provided through consultancies with experts in structural design, environmental design, and fire safety. Stud-ies in building economics and professional practice continue through a lecture module, and this is also closely integrated with the design work.Each Unit is given the responsibility for ‘hosting’ a symposium or short seminar series for the remain-der of the year group. This builds into a stimulating course which supports design thinking.

A series of lectures relating to techniques in making buildings will run at the sart of the Spring term and will inform the design process for all units.

2.5 Studio culture and conductAt MArch level, students are expected to develop an autonomous and responsible attitude to their learn-ing and also to the planning of their time. Weekly tutorials and consultancies should be considered to be a valuable resource, and students should aim to maximise the benefits that they get from these. This might include:

• Attending all tutorials and consultancies at the allotted time. If a tutorial slot is missed, it may be difficult to reschedule a student to another time.

• Bringing with them, all necessary drawings and models: discussion around a students work can be difficult if key items are missing.

• Ensuring that any work completed on computer is printed out: tutorials cannot be conducted in front of a laptop computer.

• Ensuring that drawings are presented in a professional manner, using, where necessary, appropriate drawing conventions.

2.6 Integrated work placeAn integrated workplace is on offer to graduates studying in MArch, equipped with the following:

Studio FacilitiesThe school’s design studios should be an inviting, pleasant, clean, and organised space which is open to all architecture students in the school. Students have 24 hour access to the studios, but this should be considered as a privilege that will be lost if due care and consideration is not given towards the school’s property and relevant health and safety ob-ligations. Studios should be kept in a clean and tidy state, and students should ensure that appropriate facilities for cutting, spraying and model making are




always used.

LibraryThe Architecture Library is located within the Welsh School of Architecture and is one of eighteen Uni-versity site libraries. Its location is exceptional amongst British schools of architecture, in that its collection of books, journals, reference and techni-cal literature and audio-visual material is directly accessible to students and staff of the School. In addition to these resources, it holds a rare books collection and provides access to a wide range of, online and CD-Rom databases, internet resources and electronic journals.

Environmental laboratoryThe environmental laboratory underpins many of the activities of the Architecture Science Group as well as supporting those of the Design Research Unit. The facility offers support in physical scale modelling, numerical, or computational, modelling, laboratory based measurement, field monitoring. The major components of the laboratory are the: Sky Dome, Computer Modelling Facilities and the Meterological Station.

WorkshopA workshop is located amongst the range of studios. This is equipped with several bench mounted elec-trical tools including 2 belt sanders, 2 disc sanders, 2 bandsaws, a scroll saw and a pillar drill. A number of portable electric tools include 3 drills, a belt sander, orbital sander, planer and router. All these items of equipment may be used by students after induction by the workshop craftsman and a short period of training, which includes specific training in health and safety. There is also a professional combination woodworking machine for use by the workshop Craftspersons only, for some of the more heavy duty project work required by students.

Across the corridor is a specially ventilated spray-

booth and next door to this is a model testing facil-ity with a mirror sky and heliodon. Access is normal-ly available but graduates are expected to liaise with our craftspersons..

Media labThe School has a Media Lab which houses high specification networked IBM compatible computers together with various input and output devices. Cur-rently, numerous PCs are located around the design studios, together with A4 scanners and lightboxes. The School supports the use of laptops and wire-less networking is provided. The School has digital cameras, a video camera, laptops and a digital projector for anyone to use for presentation work. In addition to the facilities provided by the School, ‘open-access’ computing facilities are available in the Bute Library and also at other locations around the University. Some of these can be block-booked for teaching purposes. The School aims to provide students with a wide array of software for computer aided design, and digital presentation including: 3D/CAD, AutoCAD, Sketchup and Microstation, Rhino); Digital Media (Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe In-design); Environmental Design (Ecotect). These are available on the network and are therefore any-where on campus.

FabLabIncludes laser cutting facilities and 3D printers

Access to all facilities should be arranged through Carole Creasey, the School’s FAcilities Manager, who co-ordinates and manages the demand for resourc-es.




Jonathan AdamsJonathan was born in Caerleon, South Wales and was educated at the Welsh School of Architecture in Cardiff and the Architectural Association in London.He spent 15 years working in the practice of Will Alsop in London, before returning to Wales in 1998. and began work on the Wales Millennium Centre project. He is best known as designer of the £106 million Wales Millennum Centre in Cardiff Bay, which opened in November 2004 but has forged a reputation for landmark arts buildings.In 2005, he began work on a major refurbishment and re-organisation of Cardiff’s Sherman Theatre. The building re-opened in February 2012. In addition to a cluster of arts and education build-ings, Adams’ new headquarters building for the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)was opened in 2010. Jonathan was President of the Royal Society of Architects in Wales (RSAW) from 2005 to 2007.

Kate DarbyKate trained at the Bartlett and the AA before prac-ticing in France and London working on the award winning Lighthouse project. Having taught at the Bartlett and Bath Kate now runs a practice n Leom-inster in Herefordshire. Kate is a founder of the Stu-dio in the Woods. She worked for Gianni Botsford Architects and was project architect on Lighthouse, winner of RIBA and AIA awards. She founded KDA in 2008, a rural practice that is concerned with mean-ing and physicality of Architecture. The experience of architecture is developed by the practice through investigations into formal, material, and physical phenomena such as delicacy, complexity, emptiness, surprise and ambiguity.

Juliet Davis (MArch2 Year Chair)Juliet graduated from Cambridge University in 1995 with a first class degree in Architecture and the top

portfolio prize, and with a Commendation in Archi-tecture in 1999. She has been a qualified architect since 2000, working for Eric Parry Architects from 1999-2005. She completed an AHRC funded PhD based at the LSE Cities Programme in July 2011 where she was also an LSE Fellow engaged in teach-ing in the design studio of the MSc in City Design and Social Science. She took up a Senior Lectureship in Architecture at Cardiff University in 2012. Her research focuses on the politics of urban design and architecture. She is particularly interested in explor-ing issues connected to how urban and building futures are imagined, projected, valued, anticipated and shaped, and in concidering their ensuing social, cultural and political implications.

Wayne ForsterOriginally trained as a chartered builder, Wayne For-ster joined the Welsh School of Architecture in 1992 as the British Gas Senior Fellow. He has been deputy head of the Welsh School of Architecture since 2002. Wayne’s role in the school centres on activi-ties in academic leadership in design, teaching and learning and practice based research through the School’s Design Research Unit (DRUw) which was set up to pursue collaborative research based design.One of the foundations of the approach to design is the integration of environmental science and qualitative aspects of place. Since it’s foundation the Unit has received a number of awards including the Cardiff University Innovation prize for 2009 and the RIBA Regional Award for the Baglan Eco-factory and the Margam Discovery Centre in 2010. In 2013, the quartet of projects related to the development of Ty Unnos was shortlisted for the RIBA Presidents Research Award.

Jacob Hotz-HungJacob trained at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the Architectural Association London. He

Design Thesis Teachers




is a registered architect in Switzerland and UK, with substantial practice experience. He is a member of the Board of Directors at Theo Hotz Architects in Zurich. In 2002 Theo Hotz and Jacob Hotz were awarded by the City of Zurich (“Auszeichnung fuer gutes Bauen der Stadt Zuerich, 1995-2001”) for the housing project Baeckerstrasse 51in 8004 Zurich.

Peter SalterPeter’s work has focused on cultural, residential and leisure projects, including several projects in Japan. His teaching career began in the 1980s when he joined the AA School of Architecture as a technical tutor in the diploma school. Here he coordinated the teaching of architecture technology as well as leading design teaching units at intermediate and di-ploma levels to develop a rigorous diploma course. In 1995 he was appointed successor to Ron Herron as Head of School and Professor of Architecture at the University of East London. His focus here was to develop a school with a specialism in exploring architecture through construction with an empha-sis on materials as a way of engaging with issues of sustainability and low energy construction. In 2006, he was appointed Professor of Architectural Design at the Welsh School of Architecture in Car-diff.

He has over twenty years experience as a visiting critic and lecturer to UK schools of architecture and as a guest speaker at architectural organisations around the world. He has published widely and has contributed essays to several AA publications and written three AA files.Current projects include four houses in Notting Hill, currently on-site.

He is the recipient of the Annie Spink Award (2004) and the AJ/Boris Royal Academy Main Award for an Architectural Project for his Thai Fish Restaurant, Tokyo (1991).

Federico Wulff Federico has been a Senior Lecturer of Architec-ture Design Studio at ETSAG School of Architecture, University of Granada (UGR), Spain. Since 1998, he has been a registered architect at the Spanish Archi-tects’ Association. In 2007/2008, he was awarded the Rome Prize in Architecture at the Royal Spanish Academy of Rome which contributed to the devel-opment of his European PhD, completed in 2011 at ETSAM School of Architecture of Madrid (Spain) and Roma Tre University (Italy).

His work in the UK began in 2012, when he was Visiting Teacher at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Then, in March 2013, he joined WSA as Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship (IEF) Post-doctoral Senior Researcher.

The Marie Curie European Project (FP7 People Program) is funded by the European Union. The re-search project, with a length of 24 months, is called EMUVE (Euro Mediterranean Urban Voids Ecology).

EMUVE focuses on the existing voids produced by current shrinking cities at the Euro-Mediterranean coastline. These cities, developed in the last 50 years as the main touristic destination of Europe, are now in many cases transformed in empty land-scapes stopped by the current economic crisis. This work intends to develop a comparative analytical research on the processes of abandonment and urban regeneration in several Case Studies along the Euro-Mediterranean coastline, in Spain, France, Italy and Croatia. We are also studying similar scenarios in the UK, in London and South Wales.




Graduates studying on the MArch programme are encouraged to make use of the research expertise available in the school, as developed through its three research groups.

Architectural science group (ASG)For over 25 years, the Architectural Science Group have undertaken research on the development and application of principles for sustainable, and sustainable management of the built environment on scales from the individual component, through whole buildings, to communities. The Group has pi-oneered research on low energy, low carbon design and sustainability in the built environment, develop-ing an infrastructure of research methods and tools, including computer models, an environmental labo-ratory and building measurement and social survey procedures. The ASG undertakes interdisciplinary research projects at national and international level and already has an international reputation dem-onstrated by its overseas collaborative links and research projects. ASG aims to achieve international excellence and outstanding quality of outputs from its research activities and to continues to develop research led teaching. ASG seeks to encourage in-dividual and interdisciplinary team based research, with clear agenda setting and high impact in relation to current issues in architecture and in response to government, industry and society needs. Research is closely linked with international and national targets for carbon reduction, waste minimisation, reducing pollution in an attempt to improve quality of life for all.

Architectural history and theory group (AHTG)The work of the Architectural History and Theory Group (AHTG) embraces a wide range of interests, as reflected in its research projects, publications, and other activities. They are linked by a common concern with understanding the histories and theo-ries of architecture - including its practice, making and education - within the situated realities of its

cultures and contexts. They are grouped under six general themes. Through conferences, exhibitions, design, pedagogy, funded research and editorships, the group aims to augment the impact of its re-search on society, education and practice. In recent years, the group has hosted international confer-ences exploring the themes of Primitive, Quality, and Economy in Architecture. Stephen Kite and Juliet Odgers are editors of Architectural Research Quarterly, Mhairi McVicar is an editor of WSA’s journal MADE, and Adam Hardy is editor of South Asian Studies. Regular WSA seminars provide a lively forum for the exchange of ideas among staff and students. Membership of the group comprises both staff and post-graduate students.

Design and practice research group (DPG)The Practice Research Group was formed in 2010 to encourage and promote research that is carried out through the act of design. This places the activi-ties of the design studio and workshop on an equal footing with those of the library and laboratory. Members of this group undertake work which may fall into one of two categories:-

Practice-based Research whereby an original investi-gation is undertaken in order to gain new knowledge partly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice. This is demonstrated through creative outcomes in the form of buildings, designs, arte-facts, drawings etc.

Practice-led Research in which the nature of prac-tice leads to new knowledge that has operational significance for that practice. Here the primary focus of the research is to advance knowledge about prac-tice, or to advance knowledge within practice.

research at the school



M.Arch Handbook - Cardiff · PDF fileM.Arch Handbook 2014-15. rc rosects 4 1 Contents ......

Documents

Transcript of M.Arch Handbook - Cardiff · PDF fileM.Arch Handbook 2014-15. rc rosects 4 1 Contents ......