Village & Landscape

As part of a continuing exploration that began with the urban block and followed with the city’s edge, we now look further afield towards the rural landscape and the village settlement. For many, architecture’s frontline is the city, defined by that steadfast characteristic of Modernity: urbanization. However, a recent shift in awareness has led some to reconsider the much neglected countryside. Built on lessons learned from the previous two semesters, we will imagine spaces that challenge the notion of the countryside as a stagnant place.

Far enough from the capital so as not to be considered metropolitan but close enough to still be in its sway, we will focus on three villages in South Burgenland along the Hungarian border. Like many rural regions that have traditionally depended on agriculture, South Burgenland has experienced a decrease in population. Our proposals will thus confront important questions dealing with density, demographics, regionalism, and economy.

Equally important to the social dimension of the rural landscape will be an understanding of the material context. Throughout the semester we will be working at different scales simultaneously, from the village as whole to the composition of a wall. We will use the intersection of materials, both new and old, to reinforce novel spatial ideas. A deeper understanding of materiality will yield a wide array of spatial qualities that relate specifically to the context.

Our designs will deal primarily with communal spaces. Deciding what defines a communal space will be based on our discoveries as we acquaint ourselves with the context and take deliberate decisions on program, typology, and the relationship between architecture and landscape.

Central to this semester will be the use of physical models as design tools. The semester is organized around a series of 4 tasks, leading up to a final, sustained project. Each task will require us to represent our ideas in model form. The models, rather than materializing at the end of the term as a comprehensive representation of a project, will be used continuously as working tools to understand context, scale, material, volume, mass, and light. An essential aspect to working with models will be their documentation. Whether through photography, drawing, or animation, the models will be activated with other media so as convey another layer of architectural intent.