Studiolog - Architectural Design Studios [2012-2013]. Fragmented Urbanism, DOHA Exploring Artistic Landscapes

Ankara: METU Faculty of Architecture, 2013. Paperback. New. 24x30 cm. In English. 195 p. B/w and colour ills. Since its establishment in 1956, the architectural studio has been the mainstay of design education in the METU Department of Architecture. The aim of this first-degree professional program is to educate and train architects who are capable of practicing within their field in both a national and worldwide context. Providing four years of education with eight major studio courses, the department maintains a strong methodological approach to design thinking. In the Fourth-Year Design Studios (401 and 402) the students engage in two projects in which they undertake a comprehensive exploration of the theoretical, contextual, programmatic and material basis of the given subject. The content of the two studios is differentiated and complementary: in the fall program, emphasis is upon the generative role of the urban context, while in the spring program the students look at how a complex building can be integrated into an actual site.

The fall project begins with a thorough research of existing conditions, supported by contemporary theories and methodologies in urban design, with the goal being to make an original contribution to a specified design assignment through the adoption of multiple approaches to multifaceted urban design concerns. The demonstration of a high level of creativity and critical skills is encouraged in situating and negotiating significantly complex architectural and urban programs of all scales into national or international contexts. "Context" is conceptualized and reinterpreted for different cities, such as Budapest, Berlin, Rotterdam, Tirana and Doha, so as to displace and shift the local definitions of the term. Working in a different country provides the students with the opportunity to engage with dissimilar architectural cultures that have been shaped by different social, economic and legal concerns. The development analytical skills and active involvement in the critical understanding, development and definition of an architectural program for an urban condition are the major goals of the research studio. In the spring semester, project briefs emphasize the significance of functional complexities, basic legislative frames and building codes, and structural and infrastructural issues, as much as socio-political and ideological realities. Developing an awareness of the historical and natural assets of the design context help the students to take a critical personal stance and ethical responsibility towards issues related with cultural heritage, society and the environment. Furthermore, they are encouraged to work on the complex and specialized architectural conditions defined in a theoretical framework. Both studios emphasize the generative role of architectural programming in the formation of physical and social conditions, and utilizing liable design strategies, the students analyze contextual and programmatic issues in the development of conceptual and practical approaches to the architectural complications.