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This design course provides an urban understanding of the relation between architecture and the city. Students will gain an apprehension for urban and architectural design and research by developing a site-specific infrastructural project. Obtain basic knowledge and initial experience of the urban context, in connection with getting to know and exercising the development and presentation of an architectural idea as well as production of a set of ideas for the individual architectural approaches.

Superfluous Studio:
FILL IN THE BLANKS: URBAN CORNER PLAZA

1: STUDIO DESCRIPTION

This semester superfluous studio: Fill-In-The-Blanks investigates the need for urban plazas in Los Angeles. The aim of the studio will be to design a pedestrian square/plaza on Wilshire Boulevard in the Koreatown district of Los Angeles. 

The current urban condition of Koreatown consists of very contrasting borders between residential blocks, office buildings, and other commercial programs meanwhile proportionally large and often left-blank open parking lots further limit the free pedestrian movement throughout the Wilshire Boulevard. To meet the pedestrian potential of this historic district, students are asked to design an open-air mixed-use plaza. This plaza will be an area that can be used by the local residents, office workers, as well as any member of the general public. 

The infrastructural focus of the design process will be to produce easy accessibility from the previously mentioned busy urban characteristics and to design a place for gathering that allows the existing parking lot  on the project site to transform with the integration of new interwoven public spaces, public, and semi-private architectural programs into a pedestrian focused urban landscape.

2: COURSE ORGANIZATION & DESIGN METHODOLOGY

The course will be held in English and the students will be working in teams of 2. The teams will be asked to observe, analyze preselected architects’ works / buildings and get acquainted with the method of collecting architectural information and creating new works from this process. 

The collection process will result in a digital library of 3D models, 2D drawings, lines, forms, images, etc. This library will then be utilized for the architectural production and design process. The design process will consist of several tasks and steps which will be introduced in the first class. Through various steps, the students will be asked to construct and imagine formerly not investigated urban applications. 

superfluous studio will utilize the method of paint-by-numbers (malen-nach-zahlen). This methodology is explored through various exercises that accommodate the Design Course 1 skill level and are requested in order to bring forth discussions on basic design criterias as well as urban spatial organizations. The class will revolve around contrary architectural concepts such as interior vs exterior, negative vs. positive space, form vs. shape, line vs. surface, image vs. object, content vs. container, ground vs. figure, solid vs. void as well as landscape vs. architecture to expand the general understanding of the discipline.

3: COURSE OBJECTIVES

The general objective of the studio is to develop an understanding of previously existing architectural, urban and graphic information generally available in cities in order to develop new and complex urban relationships within the existing contexts. This design course provides an urban comprehension of the relation between architecture and the city. Students will gain an apprehension for city and architectural design and research by developing a site-specific infrastructural public project. They will furthermore obtain basic knowledge and initial experience of the urban context, in connection with getting to know and exercising the development and presentation of an architectural idea as well as production of a set of ideas for the individual architectural approaches.

Lehrveranstaltungsprüfung gemäß § 7 Satzungsteil, Studienrechtliche Bestimmungen.

Wird im Rahmen der ersten Lehrveranstaltung besprochen.

First Class will be held on Wednesday the 9th of March, 10:30 am at the ioud: Institute of Urban Design (3rd floor of the Architectural Faculty)

The course will be in English. Please refer to the English site.