Duration
108h Pr
Number of credits
| Bachelor in architecture | 10 crédits |
Lecturer
David Crambert, Patrick David, Daniel Delgoffe, Anne Dengis, N..., Sebastien Ochej, Michel Prégardien, Philippe Vander Maren, Cédric Wehrle
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
Spirit
The environment, both natural and built, forms our living space and influences our feelings and emotions on a daily basis. Within it, we seek a place for moments of intimacy, as well as spaces to share the experience of living together.
We will explore how to give meaning and quality to places. We will cultivate the ability to develop and communicate both built space and open space (the void), which serve as containers for our lives and as a social phenomenon.
"Here is the time of the finite world"
- Albert Jacquard
It is our responsibility to cultivate awareness of the inevitable interactions between our actions and the world.
Thinking about and designing space is not a mechanical act; on the contrary, it requires constant questioning and the development of an awareness of phenomena related to the Anthropocene, in order to propose hypotheses for a sustainable world in the context of current challenges of durability and transition. For professionals in this field, it is therefore important to take a stance based on history, new realities, and aspirations, and to reveal desirable futures.
To achieve this, it seems essential for architects, who are called upon to apply their skills in diverse contexts, to develop autonomy, an understanding of their environment, and the ability to form their own convictions;
"Things are not difficult to do; what is difficult is to put oneself in the state to do them"
- Constantin Brancusi
Content
The subtitle of the teaching unit (design studio) is: "COHABIT _Crossing scales, from territory to detail." It highlights the goal of producing a synthesis between territorial considerations and the formulation of detailed design proposals.
Through the practical development of spatial solutions, the studio aims to raise awareness and cultivate project methodologies, both rational and intuitive.
The work will build upon the activities of the Q5 studio:
- Capturing, understanding, and revealing the context in its landscape, geographic, human, and cultural components. This involves evaluating the relevance of collected information, comparing it, and putting it into perspective.
- Highlighting a design issue and developing an architectural project in its built dimension while taking into account current transformations of our environment and society.
- How does the crossing of spatial scales, from territory to detail, give meaning to the proposal and encourage responsible construction based on existing conditions? (e.g., regeneration, materiality, construction systems...)
- How does the interaction between heated and unheated zones reshape ways of inhabiting? Does the use, appropriation, and interaction between these spaces generate innovative forms, compositions, evolutions, and adaptability?
- How can we break free from standardized space and instead imagine it through strategies of action, involving the study of projects at the community scale?
Knowledge from courses in spatial design, science and technology, and the humanities will be integrated: among these, topics related to structural systems, construction methods, materiality, and equipment will progressively be incorporated into the development in pursuit of cohesion among the various components that form a coherent whole guided by general objectives. The "Spirit" section above clearly involves humanities, while the "Learning Outcomes / Objectives" section clearly refers to spatial design.
It is evident that architecture cannot exist in isolation. It is essential to enrich it with both direct and indirect contributions from other artistic and cultural disciplines: literature, cinema, painting, landscape, etc., which form the culture of our societies. The goal is to awaken the ability to identify elements capable of enriching the architectural approach.
Throughout the work, digital tools will be used, without losing sight of the importance of also cultivating other tools such as hand drawing and sketches.
The studio is structured to cover the four transversal axes of the faculty: digital, art and culture, sustainability, and transition and society.
The brief will be provided before the start of the course, along with organizational details and guidance regarding more practical aspects.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
The involvement in the workshop aims to develop the ability to design spatial responses, whether built or unbuilt, that are firmly rooted in the context in which they are situated.
Another objective is to acquire the ability to take a position regarding the use of landscape resources and construction materials, fostering a collective way of thinking.
Throughout the program, the value of uses, as well as the ability to shape them with relevance and quality, will be deepened by taking into account ergonomic, programmatic, social, and cultural aspects.
The exploratory process and the development of proposals will aim to strengthen students' autonomy and their capacity to develop their own stance, grounded in convictions related to the given question. This process will provide the opportunity to experiment with and become aware of project methodologies, thereby acquiring the ability to reflect on and communicate them.
During the different sessions, the objective will also be to improve the clarity and effectiveness of graphic, oral, and written communication. This will allow students to demonstrate the richness of their responses to the complexity of parameters shaping project development, as well as the coherence of the synthesis rooted in the elements outlined above.
Learning Objectives
The student will be able to:
- Take a stance on the use of landscape resources and construction materials;
- Design an architectural response that highlights open space and is firmly embedded in its context;
- Shape uses with relevance and quality, taking into account contemporary ergonomic, programmatic, social, and cultural aspects;
- Study systems of distribution and architectural promenades;
- Prioritize and define the articulation between different statuses: public for all, collective for a community;
- Develop proposals rooted in an exploratory process aimed at strengthening autonomy. This pathway will provide the opportunity to experiment with and reflect on project methodologies, thereby gaining the ability to communicate them;
- Develop action strategies at the project scale, as well as a personal stance grounded in convictions regarding the questions raised. These will concern structural systems, construction methods, and materiality;
- Improve the clarity and effectiveness of graphic, oral, and written communication throughout the sessions, in order to demonstrate the richness of responses to the complexity of parameters involved in project development and the coherence of the synthesis;
- Work with different forms of hand drawing as well as digital tools, and develop skills in project research and presentation.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Multiple areas of knowledge from courses on spatial design, science and technology, and the humanities are combined. Among these, those related to structural systems, construction methods, materiality, and equipment will be progressively integrated into project development, in a search for cohesion between the various components that will ultimately form a coherent whole guided by general objectives. The "Spirit" paragraph above clearly refers to subjects related to the humanities, while the "Learning Outcomes / Objectives" explicitly refer to spatial design.
Corequisites:
Expected competencies:
- Learning content and objectives from the Q3 and Q4 workshops;
- The ability to establish links between different learning units and to apply the content of theoretical courses through project design within the workshop;
- The ability to produce working tools: base drawings, digital and physical models;
- The ability to design and compose, drawing in particular on an understanding of the principles taught in the different learning units;
- Knowledge of contemporary architectural culture and the ability to draw on it in the development of the project.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
We will rely on your research, your contributions, and your questions-in a word, your proactivity-so that the workshop time becomes one of research, debate, and iterative experimentation. Collaborative work makes it possible to multiply perspectives and strengthen critical thinking. The clear objective is to avoid preconceived ideas in favor of developing your individuality.
Teaching activities will take different forms, but mainly:
- Debates (round tables) in small collegial groups;
- Meetings in small groups, or even individually, which are not corrections but moments of exchange during which students are active participants in their training: they will choose and formulate questions. In addition, each student is invited to produce summary notes in order to feed individual learning paths and enrich the memory of the learning process;
- Individual or collective thematic exercise(s);
- A substantial individual assignment developed throughout the semester;
- Visits to project sites and visits to architectural sites (city and constructed buildings);
- A didactic trip, partially funded through subsidies granted by ULiège. For students facing financial difficulties, financial aid services are available at ULiège and are prepared to respond to such requests. The organization of travel and accommodation will be managed by the students;
- Oral presentations before the group and juries organized at key moments. These will lead to both summative and formative assessments;
- Specific deliverables set at various stages. These are predefined so that each student can freely organize their work according to their priorities and working method.
Workshop Journal
Description:
The workshop journal is a tool developed by the student to keep a record of the different feedback received, session after session.
This tool may be used by the teacher during each session and/or at the time of the jury.
The specific modalities, in each workshop, regarding its use, handling, and form, will be provided later by the teachers. Each workshop may adjust the expectations for the journal.
The content of the journal is not subject to evaluation, but it is part of the completeness of the documents expected throughout the semester.
Objectives:
- To build in the student an attentiveness to exchanges with teachers (note-taking habits, accountability);
- To construct a record of the learning path and reflections carried out;
- To give personal and dynamic meaning to learning;
- To allow constructive exchanges with the teacher(s).
- The material (external representations) used by the student (e.g., photograph of the desk/board) for each session;
- The nature of the student's reflections following an exchange with the teacher(s).
Teachers confirm the student's presence at the end of individual or group exchanges. A student who attends the workshop but does not participate in the exchanges will not be considered "present." In cases of particular circumstances (for example: a student must leave the workshop early for valid and justifiable reasons), the student must coordinate with the teacher(s) to benefit from the exchanges.
Absence from the Workshop
All absences must be justified.
In case of absence, the student must:
- Inform the reference teacher by email, copying the course coordinator in charge of tracking absences;
- Catch up before the next workshop and consult the weekly information provided by the teachers through the official course channels (e.g., email, eCampus, Miro, etc.);
- Provide a justification as soon as possible by email to the designated member of the teaching team.
In the case of justified and admissible absences, access to the final evaluation of the semester is conditional on a minimum attendance rate of 50%.
A prolonged justified absence will be subject to discussion between the student, the instructors, and, if necessary, the appropriate services.
Obligations within the Workshop
Each student must come to the workshop with the required work. This will be communicated at the end of each workshop session or through the official course channels predetermined by the teachers (e.g., email, eCampus, Miro, etc.).
If a student fails to meet this requirement, the exchange with the teacher(s) may be refused.
Students must ensure the cleanliness and order of the workshop spaces. At the end of the day, these must be returned to the state in which they were found at the beginning of the session, and in a condition that allows other users to use them properly.
Waste management and sorting are essential in the workshop. Bins for cardboard/paper, non-recyclable waste, and PMC are provided in each space.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Further information:
Combination of on-site learning activities
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Platform(s) used for course materials:
- eCampus
Further information:
Information and other content will be available on eCampus:
- Course syllabus: this specifies, in particular, the reflective framework, the project location and sites, the activities, as well as the organizational arrangements;
- Suggested resources: content from other courses, books, films, exhibitions, including those proposed during the workshops;
- Required content: the study and use of certain materials is mandatory. All content delivered in class sessions and/or made available on eCampus, as well as any element mentioned in the assignment brief, is compulsory.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam AND oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
written exam AND oral exam
Written work / report
Continuous assessment
Further information:
COURSE WITH A SINGLE EXAMINATION SESSION
Types of Assessment
- Assessments may take several forms, which can be combined:
- Formative and continuous: feedback from the instructor(s) on the weekly production. This assessment helps the student progress but does not contribute to the final grade;
- Summative: grades assigned to different tools and evaluation moments, which are then aggregated into an overall grade;
- Certificative: a grade assigned to the submitted work, presented orally during a jury, which validates the acquisition of learning outcomes.
Weighting
- Sketch = 5%
- Preliminary Design = 15%
- Final Jury = 80%
- Criteria Quality of the approach to landscape resources and building materials, towards collective thinking;
- Quality of the spatial response, built and unbuilt (void), and of the spaces in relation to usage issues;
- Quality of the critical and reasoned stance, of the iterative experimental process, of the integration of resources and of the links between learning units;
- Quality of the architectural vocabulary, both verbal and graphic; quality of manual and digital graphic expression (2D and 3D), as well as written and oral communication.
Composition of Juries
Different types of jury members may be distinguished:
- Members of the course teaching team;
- Internal members (faculty instructors);
- External members (instructors from other faculties, architects, resource persons...).
Student Obligations for Submissions and Juries
Students are required to attend on the day of the jury or submission, with all expected and complete documents. In case of non-submission, the student must inform the course coordinator(s) by email.
Teachers will record any shortcomings regarding the required documents during the evaluation. These shortcomings will affect the grade.
Jury Procedures
Juries are composed as follows:
- Members of the course teaching team;
- Internal members (faculty instructors);
- External members (instructors from other faculties, architects, resource persons...).
At the end of certificative juries (end of semester), the instructors complete a written report. This report records:
- The names of the jury members;
- The grade awarded to the student;
- The evaluation criteria and their assessment;
- Jury comments justifying the grade (only in case of failure).
Rules in Case of Absence for Submissions and Juries
In the case of a certificative evaluation, late or unjustified non-submission results in the work being declared non-receivable and a grade of "0". A justified absence does not exempt the student from submitting the required work.
If a student is unable, for a justified reason, to attend on the date and time of a certificative submission, the following protocol must be strictly followed:
- Inform the group instructor and the course coordinator(s) by email before the submission date and time;
- Submit the work (in its current state) through a third party, on the scheduled date, time, and place, and send the digital version (including scans and/or photos) by email to the coordinators and via the eCampus platform before the submission deadline;
- Provide written justification for the absence no later than the day after the evaluation to the administration service: administration.archi@uliege.be, with a copy to the coordinator(s).
An unjustified delay or absence from an intermediate or final jury results in the work being declared non-receivable. The student will receive a grade of "0".
If, despite an absence, the work has been submitted, the jury members will deliberate on the acceptability of the documents, as well as any measures they deem necessary for examination. If deemed acceptable, the work will be evaluated on the scheduled date based solely on the submitted documents, without the student's presence.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Contacts
All correspondence should sent by email to the coordinators.
Contact details for teaching staff.
Coordinators of the Teaching Unit:
Daniel Delgoffe: daniel.delgoffe@uliege.be
Philippe Vander Maren: Philippe.VanderMaren@uliege.be