|
An architectural design studio in the School of Architecture’s Graduate Program being taught by Seattle Architect (and MSU Alumnus) Peter Jahnke of the firm PIQUE LLC is showcasing the students’ work in Cheever Hall Gallery until the next week.
The studio, based on “communication and (re)presentation, has been engaging the instructor and the students using mostly internet-based technological means, such as webcam, email, text, and youtube posts, and not only during the scheduled times of the course but almost on continuous basis. The premise of the studio is the understanding that the realization of architectural propositions is the result of effective collaboration and communication between colleagues, clients, and consultants and in the academic milieu between and among instructors and students. Furthermore, the studio emphasizes the understanding that collaboration can only be effective if communication is effective and unaffected by the physical distances that separate the parties as technology overcomes the past difficulties to make communication more deliberate, segmented, and thoughtful.
More specifically, students in this studio have been studying the emergence of ‘tent cities’ in the city of Seattle. There are currently 2500 beds in shelters across the city for an estimated 8000 homeless. As a result, these transient communities are cropping up despite any lack of funding from the city government. The challenge the instructor posed to students was to envision how tent cities could become a stronger, more positive agent in contributing to solving Seattle’s homelessness problem and that of other cities in similar a situation across the US.
The work that is currently exhibited is a smattering of the pdf attachments the students have sent to the instructor and among themselves. The content of the images include extensive data analysis of the problem at hand and process images of progress being made on individual design proposals.
A suspended “wall of communication” occupies the center of the exhibit space. Each student is represented by a column made of clear monofilament with the number of threads signifying the number of email strings sent to the instructor. The emails are floating in each column ordered on a time scale that starts at the beginning of the semester (at the bottom of the column) and ends with the most current correspondence. The installation creates a dynamic visual representation of the timeline of the studio and the intensity of the student’s work.
Peter Jahnke will deliver the fifth and the last lecture in the School of Architecture Fall Lecture Series : “Urban and Rural” this Friday, at 5:30 pm in 339 Leon Johnson.
Click here to view images from this exhibit.
To view this exhibit Click here
An exhibit of photographs that depict the student experiences and work produced during the Foreign Studies organized in Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 by the School of Architecture is currently being exhibited at the Lower Gallery in Cheever Hall. The exhibit will be open daily until October 23rd. All Students, Staff, and Faculty are invited to visit the show.
In addition to the assimilation of a foreign culture by virtue of just “being there”, the students participating in the schools Foreign Studies are asked to document their studies by keeping a daily journal, sketching, and preparing photographic and written essays. This exhibit is a powerful and yet fun portrayal of the student’s studies, adventures, and experiences.
In Fall 2008 Professors Ralph Johnson and Christopher Livingston led a group of fourth year architecture students in Foreign Studies in France and North Africa.
During the months of February and March 2009, 19 other students visited Australia and Japan. The Australian portion was under the guidance and direction of Professor Henry Sorenson and the Japanese portion was with Adjunct Professor Jack Smith.
For more information about the lecture series Click Here
|
