Duration
192h Pr
Number of credits
| Master in architecture, professional focus in architecture and urban planning | 15 crédits |
Lecturer
Pierre De Wit, Olivier Fourneau, Olivier Henz, Margarida Tavares Alvares Serrão
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
Teaching in the second semester
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The "Habitat / Habitation postures" workshop is part of the "Habitat / Habitation" Master's workshops, which deals with habitability in the broad and complex sense of the term. Housing as a focal point, but also all the everyday places and itineraries that make up the living environment, the environment in which each person lives. The spaces in their materiality, but also the complex and dynamic relationships that the inhabitants have with these spaces.
The workshop questions the shaping of housing in an urban context. The exploration of references and fundamentals of the history of housing should enable the student to situate the spatial qualities of his own research and experiments on the notion of inhabitation.
The posture of a practising architect places the studio in a multi-criteria approach, which contextualises the shaping of individual and collective housing in the context of changing societal concerns.
Faced with global environmental issues, the student is led to address, down to the smallest detail, sustainability in architecture, the economics of the project, the environmental impact of materiality and the circular approach to building (reuse, recyclability, etc.). In addition to typological, spatial and formal studies of architectural production, particular attention is paid to the evolution of the project over time (flexibility of spaces, demountability, etc.). Finally, from a sociotechnical perspective, understood in opposition to spatial and technical determinism, the workshop explores the building/users couple from an in-depth point of view of the behaviours and lived comfort of the occupants.
Depending on the areas of observation and the projects developed, the student will have the opportunity to approach, in a reflective and personal way, the transversal axes of the master programme: sustainability (impact of human habitation on its (mid)place of daily life, the place of nature in the city...). ); art (poetic and sensitive dimension of the occupation of public, collective and private space, creativity of the inhabitants, spatial interventions in space...); digital (spatial and social impacts of the diffusion of digital technology in daily life, use of digital technology to observe and project...); society (occupation, privatisation, segregation, appropriation... of public, collective and private spaces).
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The exercise consists in developing an architectural stance on housing in relation to an urban space, so that it best responds to current societal needs in terms of dwelling, while also questioning the possible and desirable evolutions of housing, inhabiting, and the urban place and space.
At the end of the course unit, the student will be able to associate the functional and affective dimensions of an inhabited urban place through the environment, the built form, materials and colors, light, openings, thermal properties, air quality, mobility, accessibility, and various performance indicators.
The overall learning outcomes of the course unit enable the student to develop the competencies of the faculty's reference framework, in particular:
"Framing an architectural question"
Undertake exploratory, sensitive, critical readings.
(Re)formulate the question in light of the approaches carried out.
Study the different components of the theme and its context (historical, landscape, built, environmental, cultural, social, economic, legal, technological, ...).
Relate the different parameters of the study.
Integrate the results of investigations into a global synthesis, through the lens of spatial and projective resolution.
Generate, through an iterative process, several significant hypotheses.
"Developing a spatial response"
Appropriate verbal, written, and graphic languages as tools for design, structuring, verification, and questioning of thought.
Integrate structural, technical, material, and energy-related resources and constraints.
Translate spatially the proposed hypotheses through a synthetic approach, relating the different scales.
Include environmental, landscape, cultural, and socio-political values.
Adjust spatial solutions through an exploratory questioning process (question-answer-spatial validation and new cycle of questioning).
Introduce implementation experiments as a design parameter.
Construct the different stages of project conception.
Confront the project with continuous evaluation, either referenced or specifically developed.
"Implementing a situated spatial response"
Ensure conditions of use and comfort.
Rely on local resources (materials, energy sources, ...).
Take into account the climatic and geographical factors of the site.
Integrate the applicable standards, laws, and regulations of the place and program.
Adapt structural, technical, and material choices in line with the principles and values of the project.
Experiment with feasibilities, implementations, modes of arrangement and assembly, constructive processes (architectonic, ...) as design parameters.
"Interacting with all stakeholders"
Confront the project, in an appropriate way, with the viewpoints of each participant.
Work effectively within collaborative and cooperative practices, with respect for individuals.
Grasp the meaning of expectations through attentive and empathetic listening.
Integrate into multidisciplinary teams by adopting a position corresponding to one's level of expertise.
Master verbal, written, and graphic languages as tools for sharing ideas.
Produce reflective documents intended for the confrontation of ideas.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Generally speaking, the prerequisites consist of all the theoretical or practical notions and methodologies learnt in the previous courses and workshops, which are exploited and extended by the project practice. This concerns the subjects and skills developed in all areas of teaching at the faculty.
The workshop requires the demonstration of a coherent approach integrating the assimilation and appropriate use of all the prerequisites, in an overall approach to project design.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The main teaching framework is the studio: a place of individual or collective exchange between students and teachers, based on the students' regular production and their proactivity. Work may be done in groups or individually for certain aspects. The studio organizes the learning process through diverse and flexible means: collective reflection sessions, instruction or debriefing sessions, round tables that enable sharing of questions and dissemination of information, personalized meetings based on the student's own work, presentations, and collective critiques.
Work can be individual, in small groups, or in larger groups depending on the phases and the nature of the questions.
In addition to the development of the projects themselves, other pedagogical activities may be integrated, such as presentations within the studio, short individual exercises, internal or external workshops, study trips, visits, external lectures, and guest speakers within the studio framework. Participation in these specific activities is mandatory and may also be subject to evaluation.
The studio begins with a didactic trip from February 2 to 6 in the form of a one-week workshop in Barcelona (the final dates are yet to be confirmed). The cost of this didactic trip is borne by the student (accommodation on site, travel to and from the destination, and meals during the stay). Whenever possible, accommodation costs will be covered through subsidies from ULiège. For students with financial difficulties, ULiège offers financial aid services that can respond to such requests.
Students may also be asked to engage in project exhibitions, presentations, and communication activities; writing and publishing exercises; interactions with field actors or the general public - all of which prepare them for professional life in its cultural and societal dimensions.
In general, the studio develops pedagogies that prepare students for the current conditions of architectural practice, raising their awareness of the cultural, social, economic, and environmental realities that today challenge classical, linear models of thinking and acting upon the built environment (a need / a client / a site / a project).
Student obligations:
In the interest of learning and group work, attendance at the studio is mandatory, with the minimum required attendance specified in the studio's calendar.
Participation in the didactic trip to Barcelona, scheduled for February 2-6, is mandatory (though the final dates still need to be confirmed).
Attendance at information sessions (max. 2) during the first term in preparation for the workshop in Barcelona is compulsory.
No absence grants exemption from the expected requirements. Presentation of the complete progress of the work at the scheduled milestones is mandatory.
In case of absence, the student must notify the course instructors by email, catch up before the next studio session, and consult the weekly information provided by the teachers.
With less than 80% attendance at the studio, the student will not be allowed to present their project at the final evaluation jury.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Teaching is delivered primarily in person at the studio, and occasionally on the project site.
The pedagogy aims to develop the student's initiative, critical thinking, rigor, and efficiency ("savoir-être"), guiding them coherently through realistic projects both at the level of urbanistic and architectural options and at the programmatic, structural, normative, and environmental levels.
The exercise is carried out in the studio with different group configurations:
- Establishing analyses and collective documents = all students of the studio
- Development of the architectural project = in pairs (groups of 2 students)
- Individual development of a selected part of the architectural project
Physical attendance at the studio is mandatory throughout the entire semester, in accordance with the calendar.
Teaching mode: Sessions are conducted entirely in person, either in lecture halls or divided into groups.
Supervision mode: Sessions are supervised by one or more teachers. Student support will be provided either by a team of teachers or by a single reference teacher, depending on the periods of the calendar.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Further information:
More generally, students are encouraged to engage in their own research and to nourish their reflections (library, conferences, trips...), in order to form a critical judgement.
Common reference texts are made available to students via the eCampus platform. If necessary, more specific texts are sent to the students or groups concerned.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam AND oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Attendance and participation in all activities organized within the studio are mandatory.
Personal and/or group work is monitored and commented on weekly, according to the studio's operating methods and stages.
The progress of personal and/or group work is subject to cumulative evaluations by the studio team, at predefined phases, and according to pre-established criteria which may vary depending on the nature of the stages: preparatory analyses, thematic approaches, preparatory work, sketch design, preliminary project, developed project. In certain cases, self-evaluation will be encouraged by the instructors in order to foster autonomy and the student's capacity for self-criticism, organization of thought, and monitoring of their work progression.
When certain stages of preparatory work or projects are carried out in groups, the instructors verify the nature and quality of each student's contribution and adapt individual evaluations accordingly.
Evaluations are weighted fairly according to the modes of work (individual work, pairs, groups of different sizes).
The evaluation stages are specified at the start of each project.
The instructors will clearly specify at the beginning of each project or project phase the working and evaluation modalities (individual work, organized groups, etc.) as well as the expected deliverables.
The weighting between project stages is established by the instructors in proportion to the duration and importance of each phase.
The results of intermediate evaluation stages are communicated promptly to the students.
The evaluation of Master 1 students must require a higher degree of mastery in the various evaluation domains (design, theoretical foundations, architectural composition and expression, justification of design decisions and choices, constructive and technical elaboration, programmatic aspects, overall development level of all aspects, and the quality and completeness of the produced documents).
The quality of synthesis is a key assessment criterion: technical choices, as well as formal and structural decisions, must strengthen, confirm, and clearly support the project within a coherent unity of means serving an integrated overall vision.
The end-of-year project is evaluated by an extended final jury composed of the teaching team, other instructors, and external experts from the professional field (architects, urban planners, resource persons in specific domains), from administration, and from architectural education. This jury accounts for 55% of the total yearly grade.
Separate evaluations may be carried out, depending on the specificity of the projects, on particular aspects such as expression, construction, graphic communication, or the project's accompanying synopsis. Such complementary evaluations will be announced to students in due time to allow them to prepare.
Student attendance at studio sessions is mandatory: absence, even justified, from more than 20% of studio sessions may be grounds for refusal.
Weighting:
- Sketch design = 15%
- Preliminary project = 20%
- Final jury - pair work = 45%
- Final jury - individual work = 10%
- Continuous assessment = 10% (progress and active participation in the workshop in Barcelona)
In the event of absence or delay at an intermediate or final submission (jury), unjustified delay or failure to submit is penalized by non-acceptance of the work and a grade of "0." In case of justified impossibility for the student to be present on the day and at the time of submission, the following protocol must be strictly followed:
- Inform the reference instructor of their group as well as the course coordinators by email before the submission date and time.
- Ensure submission of the work (in its current state) through a third party on the day, at the time, and at the place scheduled. In addition, the documents must be transmitted in digital form (including scans and/or photos) via the MIRO or eCampus platform before the submission date and time.
- Provide the secretariat, on the same day, with a justification for the absence, with copies sent to the reference instructor and the coordinators.
If the documents are deemed admissible, the work will be evaluated, on the scheduled exam date, based on the documents in their existing state.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
The costs of reproducing graphic documents and producing models are borne by the students: the costs of collective models (site) are borne collectively by the group of students concerned.
Contacts
Olivier Henz : ohenz@uliege.be
Pierre de Wit : pdewit@uliege.be
Margarida Tavares Alvares Serrão : mserrao@uliege.be
Olivier Fourneau : olivier.fourneau@uliege.be