CATEGORY

School

CLIENT

Boston Architectural College

ABOUT

Foundation Design B-1 introduces analysis as a basis for architectural design. Students begin by engaging in an intensive, six-week analysis of a seminal house or building, during which they are introduced to a variety of rigorous analytical methods. Through this project, students come to understand the nature and variety of drawings required to represent a work of architecture in its entirety producing a comprehensive set of “base drawings” (plans, sections, and elevations) from which to begin their analysis. Working through sketches, study models, and measured analytical drawings, students arrive at a fundamental understanding of the underlying concepts and principles that informed the design of their selected building. After completing the building analysis project, students undertake a three-week analysis of a site along the Charles River, in which they are given the opportunity to refine the analytical abilities developed during the first six weeks of the course. During this analysis, students are asked to cultivate and set forth a particular attitude about the site, which then serves as the basis for a complete design proposal for a public boathouse to be located on the site. This synthetic project allows students to merge their analytical understandings of the site with the fundamental design principles learned in A-1 and A-2 in a single architectural proposal. In addition to incorporating their site analysis, students are required to consider fundamental questions of human occupancy and scale, spatial relationships, and materiality. A complete set of programmatic requirements are encountered for the first time in the this project. Attendance to all class meetings is mandatory. The first night of class will include an important discussion of course goals and rules and must not be missed. Since there is likely to be a waiting list of students trying to get into the class, registered students who are absent from the first night of class will lose their place in the studio and will have to look for replacement courses during add/drop.