Phase 02 : Schemes and Speculations Proposition and Expression ALAR 8010 Research Studio | Fall 2022
Schedule In Phase II you will articulate a design proposal based on the research, field observations, Launch: Thurday, October 13th and guidebooks from the first half of the semester. Using this proposal, you will produce Review: Tuesday, December 13th a speculative design proposal envisioning a future for Berlin in relation to its hydrology, socio-ecological relationships, and infrastructure.
The objectives in this phase are: 1) to develop a project proposal that will guide the design proposition, 2) to form a series of questions that underline your approach to the project, 3) produce a methodology to approach the design proposition that is rooted in the questions and research, and 4) propose new spatial propositions for the City of Berlin’s hydrological systems/infrastructure, utilize the concept of wildness (autonomy), and develop interventions that acknowledge history and embrace a bold future.
The first half of the semester has outlined the richness and complexity of Berlin’s multi-faceted culture and urban development. The city’s relationship to the Spree has been vital in this development of the city, as a conduit for trade, a place for recreation, vital to the production of energy, and as an object of fantasy and myth. The name Berlin comes from its
origins as wet lands, and has driven the formation of the city and its relationship to a high water table. For human settlement to thrive in this area it has required technological achievements to drain lands, divert water, and produce new boundaries.
The city has also been a bastion for progressive culture, with an emphasis on the arts and individual and/or collective expression. How might we expand this to define wildness as a form of autonomy, not only in the biological but also in the cultural, social, hydrological, ecological, etc… Imagining the future of Berlin how can use this prompt to rethink how the city will develop as it develops a friction between its progressive history and the onslaught of capital investment.
Part I: Project Proposal Implied in this proposal is that spatial design can influence and respond to the contemporary condition, bridging the gaps between the physical and the cultural, and the tangible and the perceived. Each of the following elements can be approached in any order and should be utilized to produce the broad range of work necessary to form the conditions, architectures, and landscapes you are proposing.
Working alone or in pairs, you will develop a proposal that contains the following components.
Thesis/Abstract Develop a thesis/position/abstract that explains your project and explain why your research is important and how it will direct/evolve/guide a new future for the city. This can be done through a written statement, a series of bullet points, images, diagrams, videos, etc..
Research Questions Create a series of questions that are important to your work.
Design Method and Site Definition How will you approach the project? What tools will you use? What scales will you work at? How will you define your site boundary, network, region, etc?
Representation It goes without saying that this phase of the studio is proposing spatial ideas. It is therefore necessary to produce site plans, sections, mappings, diagrams, and models (physical and digital) to fully explore and ground these ideas. The representational strategy should define a working methodology as well as an aesthetic sensibility.
Deliverables Every project should have an appropriate range of representation that explains the fundamental spatial/tectonic frameworks of each project. The deliverables for this phase of the research are determined by individual projects and will be determined
in consultation with the faculty. For the proposal you should outline an initial list of deliverables that will evolve throughout the remainder of the semester.
The proposal will be contained within a .ppt or .pdf presentation and will specifically address each of the five components outlined above.
Part 2: Speculative Design Proposition Using the proposal as a guide, individually or in pairs, you will create a provocative and thorough design proposition. Your work should be bold, situating itself between the powers of speculation and the grounding of implementation. Use the provocations in your proposal to push boundaries and to imagine how design can intervene in the fabric of the city/region.
Strategy Develop a strategy for your project that focuses on the overarching goals you are trying to achieve. The strategy should have short term and long term goals, and can often have multiple ways to achieve these goals.
Tactics What are the actions that allow the proposal to form? The tactics focus on actions that concretely define the steps necessary to achieve your goals.
Precedents Carefully unpack precedents to understand their ability to convey specific concepts that focus on aesthetics, method, and technical procedures. These can be specific projects that you are choosing for their application of clear visual languages, material assemblies, or large-scale strategies. It is important that this goes beyond a collection of things you “like,” instead it should be a way to contextualize your work within the design disciplines.
Implementation and Speculation The projects are speculative and function at scales that are difficult to comprehend. To ground the projects, it is necessary to articulate how the projects are implemented. There are multiple ways to approach how implementation is developed for the project and it is typically necessary to show implementation across multiple aspects of the proposal. Implementation can consist of drawings of details that show how materials are assembled or may be a long-term management plan that is linked to a city’s political process. Take implementation seriously to give projects constraints and to help an outside audience place the concepts within a plausible future. Implementation tempers speculation, using implementation to push speculation through refinement and iteration. Be clear conceptually about the relationship the project is developing between speculation and implementation.
Phase 02: Schemes and Speculations
Week 9 10.18 Desk Crits 10.20 Presentation of Project Proposals
Week 10 10.25 Desk Crits 10.27 Desk Crits
Week 11 11.1 Pin-up 11.3 Desk Crits
Week 12 11.8 Election Day . Optional Desk Crits 11.10 Desk Crits
Week 13 11.15 Desk Crits 11.17 Review (internal)
Week 14 11.22 working session 11.24 Thanksgiving
Week 15 11.29 Desk Crits 12.1 Desk Crits - last day of studio meetings
Week 16 12.8 Working Session - no classes 12.10 Working Session - no classes
Week 17 12.13 Final Review 12.14 Final Deliverables Submission