STUDIO PROCESS

The material presented on this site is the result of the studio work of Architecture and Urban Space Design at CTH. The course spanned over the autum term of 2020 and was carried out almost exclusively through remote education due to the pandemic. Here you can see the process of the course and the way through which the students have explored the topic of hybridity and actant behavior.

MODULE 1: INFRASTRUCTURAL SYSTEMS 3 WEEKS

MAIN OBJECTIVES

Rethinking infrastructure

Taking infrastructure to the front stage, making it a significant part of form, organisation, and space.

INTRODUCING ACTANTS

An actant is anything with the ability to act independently. In the studio we focused on the infrastructure systems of the five dominant actants impacting the city:

Water
Ecosystems
Mobility
Daylight
Ventilation

ANALYSIS METHODS

To better understand and consider the five actants in our designs, software to analyse the actants was introduced

HYBRID REFERENCES

During Module 1 we looked at inspiring hybrid-architecture (building, landscape,infrastructure) case-studies.

MODULE 2: SUPRASTRUCTURES 3 WEEKS

MAIN OBJECTIVES

Understanding the concept of the suprastructure: "The structure that an infrastructure is part of" or “the system of the systems”. In Module 2 we made massing models that integrated the five actant infrastructures into one synchronized system.

NEIGHBOURHOODS

The studio was divided into six teams, all in charge of one specific neighbourhood in Gullbergsvass:

Centralenområdet
Drömmarnas Kaj
Flodmynningen
Skansen Lejonet
Postterminalen
Göta Älvbron

ASSETS AND INTERSTICIES

Each team identified already built elements in their neighbourhoods. The elements considered important to integrate in the suprastructure went under the label “assets”. What was considered an asset could be very different depending on the team.

Left over spaces between, below, around and above existing structures, as well as voids left behind from demolition were identified as intersticial spaces, spaces of opportunity.

MODULE 3: IN-DEPTH PROJECTS 6 WEEKS

INDIVIDUAL DESIGN

In Module 3 each student created an individual design. The goal was to go deeper into formation by locally evolving the team’s suprastructure.

HYBRID ARCHITECTURE

The In-depth project should be a balanced combination of five elements:

Building
Landscape
Suprastructure
Assets
Intersticies

HYBRID PROGRAMMES

Our individual projects should locally stitch together the intersection of:

Actants organized by the suprastructure
Places to live
Places to work
Our own ideas and concept

NEGOTIATING BOUNDARIES

For the individual projects, no specific boundaries for each project were defined. Real-time boundary negotiations, neighbor-to-neighbor, therefor became an important part of Module 3.