HABITATION STUDIO OVERALL SYLLABUS

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1 HABITATION STUDIO OVERALL SYLLABUS ARC ARC 4110 CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG A R C H I T E C T U RE T1: Year 2 + Year 3:, Eymen HOMSI Year M1: Bernard LIM T2: Year 2 + Year 3: Shiqiao LI, Year M1: Joshua Paul BOLCHOVER "Habitation begins as the routines of life take place and develop significant form. The form becomes significant as its ambiance, its condition of light, its geometry, its relationship to other forms embody symbolic significance. It is not merely a response to immediate functions but also the embodiment of myths, customs, and beliefs. The distance between two persons in conversation, the seating arrangement around a room or a table, the place of entry into a room, the shape of gathering around an event, a procession, these are captured in art, folklore, literature, and customs in various cultures, and have given timeless significance to art, literature, and architecture. They enable a work of architecture to capture the entire history and culture of a community the past, present, and future in a single act." (From Notebook II, Essy Baniassad) 1. DESIGN THEMES Habitation is a mode of design that links architectural space and human activity. Its method is to assemble archetypal activities (entry, gathering, worship, exchange, work, contemplation, etc.) and to develop these into more complex narratives involving a) the experience of space and b) the uses of space. a) The Experience of Space: The link between architectural space and human activity involves bodily sensation of space. From this simple premise a number of topics follow, each of which can be studied in detail: Space and Movement: The sensation of movement through space (kinesthetic) orientation and alignment the orchestration of sequences of space the sensation of enclosure or release the sensation of distance and proximity the hierarchies of space spatial expression through spatial dynamics the design of the path. Space and Sensation: Optic sensation: the eye as the register of space, and in particular the capacity of the moving eye to confer depth, duration, and experience to static space the introduction of the moving eye as a design factor/tool visual space, i.e. space that offers itself to the inspection of the moving eye the perception of solid and void and in particular of space as a sculpted void the role and uses of color. Haptic (touch) sensation: the perception of textures, materiality, and with these the entire domain of architectural expression through detail the perception of weight. Auditory sensation: highly significant parallel to visual space in the overall perception of space, especially in understanding distance, depth, materiality. Space and light: the presence and modulation of light, including the effect of the alternation of night and day the role and effect of shadows light as an analogue to vision; transparency, translucency, and opacity. b) The Uses of Space: The uses of space form a crucial link between human activity and architecture. These can be studied in a variety of ways in term of how space addresses functional, symbolic, and social needs.

2 Symbolic Uses of space Every human activity, and every space for that activity, possesses an ordinary as well as a symbolic dimension. If program can be said to refer to the ordinary dimension of use, then occasion might refer the symbolic aspects. Both designations are necessary. Each can be seen as variations on the other. Each contains the other. It is the task of design to orchestrate the program in the service of the occasion, and, in doing so, to reinvent their relationship. A number of programs may serve an occasion or, alternately, a program may serve a number of occasions. In all cases, however, the pair constitutes the same relationship between the ordinary and the symbolic, the everyday and the special, the mundane and the poetic. In architectural terms this relationship has been designated in many ways: servant space and served space, ground and figure, fabric and monument, function and expression (or representation), abstract space and event space (or social space). Functional Uses of Space Plan organization is the domain of habitation design. It involves the study of the plan in terms of use, hierarchy, relative sizes, program components, and general layout. It ranges from the study and layout of the diagram, with primary or archetypal activities (entry gathering and circulation spaces), to the organization of complex spaces involving resolved relationships of program, site, and activity. 2. STUDIO ORGANIZATION The Habitation Studio is organized into sections of approximately 13 students each. Undergraduate sections will be composed in a vertical manner, with students from Year 2 and Year 3 joining together. Year M1 students will remain together in one section. The sections are independently taught, but they share design exercises (Studio Project and School Project), and are connected through joint reviews, lectures, and other activities. Term Year 2 + Year 3 Year M1 studio project Eymen HOMSI Bernard LIM school project Eymen HOMSI Bernard LIM Term Year 2 + Year 3 Year M1 studio project Shiqiao LI Joshua Paul BOLCHOVER school project Shiqiao LI Joshua Paul BOLCHOVER 3. DESIGN EXERCISES The Habitation studio will focus on the edge condition in Hong Kong and its adjacent cities. We will explore different types of edge condition, the reasons behind how they were created, their spatial characteristics, and find ways of intervening within these spaces.

3 In Hong Kong both nature and culture are expressively shaped and spatially compressed both forming highly dense contrasting habitats. Where they meet their forces become visible as a three-dimensional interweaving of natural and built elements forming a distinct edge between city and nature. The studio will investigate the different conditions on both sides, explore the formation and characteristics of their interlocking, discover its spatial qualities and reveal potential for inhabitation and possible architectural intervention. As part of the exploration of the edge condition the Habitation studio will hold weekly events inviting outside practitioners in other disciplines such as film, new media and within the art-world to discuss the content of their work. We also intend to showcase a series of films both fictional and documentary to provide insights and inspiration in the ongoing discourse of the studio. The Studio Project is a four-week exercise that explores design issues from the habitation point of view. The intent of the exercise is to identify basic habitation themes, to establish a vocabulary of terms, to develop a working method, and to serve as the starting point for the School Project. The insights gained from the School Project may be usefully extended to the School Project. The School Project takes up the remainder of the semester. The details for the Studio and the School Projects will be handed out separately in each section. 4. HABITATION STUDIO CALENDAR Term WEEK DATE EVENT M First teaching day, select studio Start Studio Project W Th M W Th M Mid-Autumn Festival Holiday W Th M W Th Year M1 Review M Year 2 Review W National Day Review week Th Year 3 Review M Start School Project W Th M W Th M W Th M mid review year M W mid review year 2

4 30.10 Th mid review year M W Th M W Course evaluation week Th M W Th M Year 1 Zone D T Year 2 Zone D W Year 3 Zone D Review week R F M-Arch 1 Zone D S M-Arch 2 Zone D 5. STUDIO ACTIVITIES Lectures A series of lectures will take place on selected dates to introduce the design problem, and elaborate the themes of Habitation and studio related topics. A selection of readings will occasionally be provided. Lectures will be occasions for a gathering of the three sections 6. ASSESSMENT 30 % for Studio Project 70 % for School Project The student has to pass the School Project to earn the term grade. 7. CONTACTS Joshua Paul Bolchover jbolchover@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Rm 609 Wong Foo Yuan Bldg, tel: Esther Lorenz e.lorenz@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Rm 609 Wong Foo Yuan Bldg, tel: Eymen Homsi Eymen@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Rm 610C Wong Foo Yuan Bldg, tel: Shiqiao Li lishiqiao@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Rm 517 Wong Foo Yuan Bldg, tel: Bernard Lim, (Studio Coordinator) bvlim@cuhk.edu.hk Office: Rm 610E Wong Foo Yuan Bldg, tel:

5 8. REFERENCES Rudolf Arnheim, The Dynamics of Architectural Form (Berkeley : University of California Press, 1977) Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, tr. Maria Jolas (Boston: Beacon Press, 1969) Mircea Eliade, The Sacred and the Profane (Florida: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1959) Karsten Harries, The Ethical Function of Architecture (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998) Martin Heidegger, Poetry, Language, Thought, tr. Albert Hofstadter (New York: Harper and Row, 1975) Christian Norberg-Schulz, Architecture: Presence, Language and Place (Milano: Skira Editore, 2000) Juhani Pallasma, The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses (London, Academy Edition, 1996) Joseph Rykwert, The Sitting Position, The Necessity of Artifice, (New York: Rizzoli, 1982) IMPORTANT NOTE TO STUDENT: Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at With each assignment, students will be required to submit a statement that they are aware of these policies, regulations, guidelines and procedures.