Course description

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Paris: its people and architecture.

It is impossible to separate an object from its user as one would have no meaning without the other.  Likewise, all cities are indivisible from their inhabitants as both are the very cultural, social and political response to centuries of evolution.

 

The city of Paris is undeniably one of Europe’s most compelling metropolis to explore and observe the footprints of history.

 

Students will be guided through an intellectual exploration of the underlying forces that have forged the past and are shaping the future of Paris and Parisians.

 

Architecture as the key subject in this study will allow students to explore, experiment and develop a personal design language in respect to the built environment.

 

 

Objectives

 

Course

 

The course introduces to the students the fundamentals of design and development of design vocabulary, the aim is to nurture design thinking and to enable students to apply the same thought process in developing understanding towards the built environment from a large to a detail scale.

 

The classes introduce drawings and models as tools for conceptualisation, organisation and furthering of the design thought process. The student will learn the basics of town planning, history of architecture and cultural influences through the use of mapping, sketch observation, drawings and three-dimensional composition.

 

Technique:

 

The techniques used during the course will be various. These include:

• Free-hand drawing appropriate to visual & architectural representation

• Indoor & outdoor sketching

• Drawing from observation

• Architectural drawings

• Collages

• Architectural concept models

• Scale-models

 

 

 

History:

 

The course will provide an awareness in to the architecture of historic periods and people.

Research will provide ground for discussion on social, religious and political character.

We will examine the building methodology, building materials and how history and movements influenced their built form and settlement pattern.

 

Site visits:

 

Students will be encouraged to walk the city daily. During the many trips around the city there will be a series of didactic workshops which will be part of and inform the course program.

Paris offers a variety of different spaces, from the very confined small parks to great avenues and sprawling parks. Diverse spaces will provide ground for different types of observation and studies.

In addition, students will visit main historic sites, museums, and many other sites of interest.

 

Design:

 

Students will be introduced to architectural design as a process and as a final product. They will understand fundamentals of space, form and order as basic architectural skills.  There will be a methodical approach in a design project that will involve the creation of simple space planning and the development of the functional aspects of good design.

Students will also be equipped with the basic skills necessary to represent their ideas in simple models using modest materials.

 

Exhibition:

 

Students will be learning and producing outcomes relative to the final exhibition throughout the course. Each week’s topic will guide the students to provide a coherent and unique strategy that will lead to the production of an architectural proposal toward the end of course.