8Teaching

“Again, there are two common ways of missing the reality of the architectural work: one is to see the building as nothing but a system of components intended in design and realized by construction, the other is to view it as a system of representations outlined in composition and experienced in perception. Both make the building into an object, the first a result of technical reason and the second a confirmation of aesthetic expectations.”
     (David Leatherbarrow and Moshen Mostafavi)

This studio desires to join the practical with the poetic through the development of architectural research, an understanding of the practical forces at work on and within architecture, and an awareness and comprehension of multi-scale design strategies. Practically speaking, the context of what we do as architects is fragmentary even as it seeks to be resolved comprehensively. This has never been more the case than in today’s practice climate of fast-track schedules, off-site fabrication, multi-disciplinary teams, and international collaborations. However, less prominent in the dialogue of practice is the question of a construction ethic. What are the means by which we articulate inquiry within our work? What are the formal and technical values by which we make design decisions? Could architecture be understood as an infinitely integrated matrix of detailed moments, connected by comprehensive strategies?

The studio project is located within the Cranbrook Academy of Art campus in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

“Life without beauty is half lived. Cranbrook Academy of Art is a community that nurtures speculations. Risk is necessary. Courage is a prerequisite.”      (Gerhardt Knodel, Cranbrook Academy of Art Director)

The program was a Spa and Wellness Center.