ARCH 2020: Design Fundamentals II
The body is the anchor in the world. The built environment references the human body and although no two bodies are identical, a tacit acceptance of “average” dimensions to accommodate all bodies has become the norm. We want to challenge the notion of a universal human scale and meticulously study a body in motion and record the specificity of every instance of the motion with an understanding that the body does not merely occupy space but moves through space. This space is not a backdrop for movement but integral for it as it provides orientation and is never neutral.
In the previous semester (ARCH 2010), you looked to nature to study, analyze and then translate complex geometry as it occurs in the natural world. This biomorphic study laid the foundation to learn how to describe non-Euclidean geometries through drawing techniques.
Building on this knowledge, in ARCH 2020 you will learn to collect data by carefully mapping a body’s movement during a specific activity. You will analyze, document and ultimately represent this data through drawing. Through this process, you will build an understanding of how a body in motion inhabits space. The range of motion your body maps will be the frame of reference to design a site- specific architectonic enclosure. You will continue to expand your knowledge of digital drawing and fabrication tools using Rhino as your primary 3D modeling software as well as V-Ray for rendering.
