Form and structure collide in the tectonics of arches & vaults: in the introductory design studio, the first of the core studio sequence, students are tasked with analyzing existing built forms in the history of architecture. Principles of hierarchy and spatial organization are analyzed in order to deduct the primary and secondary elements of design as they relate to structure. The diamond vaults of St. Brygida in the the city of Gdansk, Poland, serve as the precedent. Once an exhaustive study of the geometry is completed, the transformation of the diamond vault begins to take place, suggesting a new formal language based on the precedents of the past.
Instructors: Erin Besler, Steven Christensen, Andrew Kovacs, Georgina Huljich
