GRANT RECIPIENTS:

Santiago Aranegui, Architecture, Wolfson Campus
sarenegui@mdc.edu
Pilar Benitez, Architecture, Wolfson Campus
pbenitez@mdc.edu
Jose Vazquez, Architecture, Wolfson Campus
jvazquez@mdc.edu

This is an interdisciplinary project that will bring together and bridge the gap between the conceptual and abstract principles of Design with other Architectural courses: Architectural history and theory. Structures and Architecture construction and materials and technical courses, such as Architectural Drawing and CAD. This project involves the study in abstract form of architectural condition (THRESHOLD) that the students are expected to study and define. After the initial resolution, this three-dimensional construct will take the form of a full-scale installation to be built by the students themselves in a specific location within the Wolfson Campus. The students have to produce their own measured construction drawings and budget their project. This project is about Design as a collaborative activity. With that idea in mind, the class will be organized in teams of two. They are expected to develop and further refine the original design as they start the actual process of construction. The hope is for the students to gain a better understanding of architecture, the use of precedents and theory, and to put into practice the knowledge previously acquired in structural systems and materials.

March 2, 2005

We organized a formal opening which was attended by MDC faculty, staff administration and the public at large. It was attended by over two hundred people, including friends and parents of our students. It was reviewed in the College forum magazine and Professors Lozano, Aranegui and Vazquez were interviewed by a local Spanish News channel (AmericanTV-44). The Installation was on display for two weeks before being dismantled. An award was given by the Earth Ethics Institute to one of Professor Culver’s students for the best design in sustainability. Each professor involved in this project was responsible for the evaluation of each student’s teamwork. The criteria used to assess and evaluate each individual design were based on three elements:

1) DESIGN CONCEPT- Depth of investigation and ability to develop a conceptual position.
2) DESIGN PROCESS- Understanding of design principles and elements; understanding of materials and details; exploration by means of sketches, drawings, scale models.
3) DESIGN COMPLETION AND PRESENTATION - Final full-scale construction; quality of construction and details; construction documents (drawings); verbal presentation

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As part of the original intent stated in the original grant proposal, the School of Architecture will be organizing another WALL PROJECT next spring term. The feedback given by the students, faculty and administration alike was very positive. It is the School’s intention to involve other local architectural schools as part of this event. This will allow our students, who will eventually be transferring to those programs, to get acquainted with those universities while at the same creating a forum that will foster intellectual debate and celebrate design as collaborative activity, both intellectual and physical. (Supplemental material to be mailed separately)