Second Year 2020-21 Trimester 2
The Public Realm: Spaces and Places
“by ‘design’ I mean taking into consideration designing projects that are contextually responsive to the spatial conditions that you’re working within, but also the social conditions. When both spatial and social considerations are taken into account, it’s place-making and not just space-making”
Fatma Al Sahlawi, Building a Public Realm
“We see the earth as Client. This brings with it long-lasting responsibilities.”
Yvonne Farrell + Shelley McNamara, FREESPACE manifesto, Biennale Architettura 2018
In the Second year studio we aim to support and motivate the students to become active participants in their own education, to critically engage with the work of their peers and with the role of the architect in relation to local and global challenges, and to develop a reflective design practice.
In his book 'The Architecture of Social Ritual', the late Peter Blundell Jones proposes how architecture is a 'profoundly social activity' irrespective of style, aesthetics and utility and can both accommodate and shape society. Underlying the studio is the understanding that social ritual - the myriad, complex patterns of how people interact and combine - is the force that ultimately dictates settlement, that makes our cities and landscapes what they are. If we can begin to understand this force and how to build for it, we can begin making meaningful architecture.
Over the year, the students engage with design for the community. In Trimester 1, students design a housing project for 25 people. In the Trimester 2, students design a community building of approx 750m sq we call a ‘People’s Palace’.
In Trimester 2 we explored
the role that architecture can play in defining the future places and spaces of collective urban life while building on the work of the first trimester to develop the design project in detail.
our responsibility in treating the ‘Earth as Client’ in the design project and how this might help us imagine and inform design strategies and approaches to detail development
architectural representation and its potential as an aid to imagining, developing and communicating our ideas
the role structure can play in developing the design project by collaborating with Engineering + Architecture of Structures module CVEN 20040
the potential for collaborative design practice while working online in the QUB+UCD 1 day design charette
alternative forms of review, presentation and discussion by participating in the TUD-led ‘Rethinking the Crit’ project
the role of writing as a tool with which to reflect on and develop design practice through weekly reflective writing and the portfolio book.
We worked on two sites, one opposite Bridgefoot Street Park, and one on Thomas Street, bordering the Digital Hub. In 2020-21, we built on the excellent work of the second year studio 2019-20. The work of 2019-20 can be viewed on Miro here: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_ktEc4Wg=/
In the website, the work shown in the introductory sections is from Trimester 2. The student work shows a combination of Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 work. An overview of the Trimester 2 work can be viewed on Miro here: https://miro.com/app/board/o9J_lDIwCfo=/
The second year teaching staff would like to congratulate the second year students in their work over 2020-21. The students faced into what has been an incredibly challenging year with grit and good humour and have collaborated with each other to produce compelling and engaging work. We hope you all take a good rest this summer.
