Student Work

Course Description

Kimo Griggs, Glen Stellmacher Winter 2020

Course Description

As our world has evolved from flat and personal to round, interconnected and interdependent, the decisions we make as architects affect broad systems rather than isolated or discrete moments. We employ a broad, systems approach to examine the consequences and potential of architectural design, including ecology, structural design, silviculture, social value, embodied carbon, economic empowerment, material properties, empirical desires and more. The proposed studio will use design as a mechanism to prototype broad systematic processes within this context. The intent of the studio is to propose and develop alternative methods of architectural practice and project delivery, specifically including design and prototyping related to the new Rural Forest Technology Hub at the UW Center for Sustainable Forestry (UWCSF) in Eatonville, WA. During the design process students will engage directly with UWCSF staff to propose and develop tectonic systems that engender sustainable forest management and ecologies. Additionally, students will develop new methods for scanning forest resources and integrating forest resource criteria into the design process. Students will source material directly from UWCSF and use the landscape as an open-air lab. This Studio will require an applied, prototypical approach to architectural design that addresses questions of how architects and stewards of the landscape can operate on an integrated level.