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PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
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SUMMARY:Critical Mass: Mass made units / EAST
DTSTART:20220601T090000
DTEND:20220601T173000
DTSTAMP:20260405T192145Z
UID:9c585410ae2722e96834a6703c5e6679b5f0d103da7ffb92a5eef745
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Sarah Nichols\, Lieven Nijs\, Jo Taillieu\nComing from last se
 mester's topic of Natural Stone\, over this spring students have been focu
 sing on a more artificially shaped construction element: Mass made units\,
  like bricks and blocks.\nKeeping in mind the quarry and factory visits in
  Domodossola and its predominant\, local construction methods of stone bui
 ldings\, from dry-stacked rural houses to more elaborated\, precisely cut 
 architecture\, Mass Made Units is aimed to translate the understanding of 
 this knowledge in more responsible use of material and construction in bui
 lding with bricks\, blocks and any other mass produced\, same- or similar-
 shaped units.\nThe topic is tackled from multiple angles\, no idea is too 
 naive or approach too mundane - everything can and will be used as an star
 ing point: A building as a kiln with vernacular on site produced and burne
 d bricks\, as displayed in Anupama Kundoo`s architectural work\, is as muc
 h a field of interest as AMUNT`s thermal single leaf pumice wall construct
 ion\, making glued and hard dismantable composite-wall-systems obsolete. A
 dditionally visits to TERRABLOC display how little machinery and energy is
  needed to create a new vision for constructive build units.\nThe followin
 g three tasks were laid out to investigate the subject:\nMassively relevan
 t investigates the spatial - structural order and quality of relevant hist
 oric or contemporary architecture. Students were asked to graphically eval
 uate ground floor\, section and construction detail of a built architecton
 ic reference\, while investigating and interpreting the found responsable 
 material and construction strategies.\nCritical Reading tackles a list of 
 known essays and books about the use and value of masonry.  Knowledge and
  experience increases through reading\, helping to get familiar with both 
 technical and theoretical building vocabulary and broadening and facilitat
 ing a more productive and precise discussion. Even ever so small input or 
 fresh thought could open up new perspectives and help find better solution
 s.\nComposing Units is the final design exercise of the semester. The aim 
 is to design a housing unit on the top of a massive Bunker along the Prome
 nthouse Line.\nThe Promenthouse Line is a trail of defenses that is part o
 f the so-called border fortifications of Switzerland. It is the westernmos
 t line of the former Swiss defense system\, which extends in an arc from S
 argans over the Limmat\, the Rhine and the Jura chain to the Versoix. The 
 extremity of this\, reaching the shores of the Lac Léman\, is represented
  by the Toblerone trail. Holding on to a vision towards a much more circul
 ar use of the existing resources in the territory\, made us decide to sett
 le down on this historical trace by reusing the mass of the Bunkers. One\,
  situated in a more urban context versus one in a rural area next to the l
 ake.\n The choice of how to use and integrate this resource is dependent 
 on the concept and its constructive and aesthetic choice of units.\nThe ne
 w infrastructure has to accommodate a minimum of 12 inhabitants. In order 
 to tackle the theme of how a space is inhabited and how the question of pu
 blic versus private in a housing project is influencing the use and design
  of it\, only one of the functions will have a level of privacy\, while th
 e other ones need to be shared: Sleeping\, cooking\, sanitary facilities\,
  cultural activities.\nSpatial qualities\, material choice and correlated 
 sustainable actions are important factors to integrate in the design proce
 ss.\n\nStudio EAST thanks all our speakers for this semester's conference 
 and everybody who took part in the study trip and site or factory visits a
 nd juries: Alia Bengana\, Yves Dreier\, Rodrigo Fernandez & Laurent de Wur
 stemberger\, Roger Tudó Galí\, Anupama Kundoo\, Elisabeth Luzzi & the TF
 L-Team\, Björn Martenson\, Nicolas Memain\, Susanne Mühlhaus\, Sarah Nic
 hols\, Lieven Nijs\, Jo Taillieu\, Baukje Trenning.\nJoin us for this even
 t on Wednesday 01.06.2022 from 9:00h-18:00h at our ateliers in Triaudes (T
 RIC 7.10)
LOCATION:TRIC 7.10 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==TRIC%207.10
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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