During the course students are expected to: • develop and demonstrate their capacity to deliver a conceptually clear, tectonically well resolved, constructive analysis and associated documentation of case studies. • develop familiarity and understanding of materials, components, assembly systems and design principles, generic details, and buildability applicable to composite (load-bearing / framed) construction systems and small framed structures in reinforced concrete, steel and timber • develop familiarity and demonstrate understanding of the three-dimensional assembly of construction elements, informing the two dimensional graphic representation of detail design development techniques; • excellence will require coherence of design and detail ideas, refinement of visual expression, inventiveness in the application of principles, initiative to investigate the unfamiliar, cognisance of constraints of production, well produced and presented work.

No formal prerequisite. Completion of first semester drawing course an advantage.

In order to establish a clear “ground” – both physical, and theoretical – onto which to operate, the course will engage students broadly on two fronts. Part 1: Topos (2cfu) will provide a theoretical framework along different geographical and cultural areas, where each student will be invited to address how the link between built object and its site can be established. Using the notion of "topography" quite literally, that is "writing a place", each student will be led to recognise, analyse, and investigate grounding notions, and experiment with the vertical cross section as the main representational tool. Part 2: Tectonic (4 cfu) will expose students to the individual materials that go into building construction such as: concrete, masonry, timber, steel, glass. Each will be addressed and analysed through successive exercises that iteratively build upon each other, critically seeking to understand the intersections of climate, infrastructure, and architecture. Lectures will show how they come together to produce architectural enclosure, structural assembly and how structure, materials and the methods and means by which they are selected, have deep aesthetic, economic, social and operational implications.

The course comprises of frontal lectures (6 cfu) and practical tutorials (2 cfu).

Structured around parallel formats, the course will teach student the fundamental of building construction technologies through the attendance of lectures, independent reading and research, response to assignments and weekly tutorials / take-home exercises, production of analytical hand and 2D & 3D computer sketches and the research and presentation of assigned precedent case studies that will correlate to the lecture subject matter. Students will work individually and will be required to utilize the following: • digital and/or physical sketchbook, which will help students think analytically through a material or system by drawing and annotation. • presentation software such as PowerPoint, Google Slides or InDesign to produce final curated presentations, which teach students how to collect, interpret and present information to others and by default instil the knowledge within themselves.

§ Deplazes, Andrea (ed.). Constructing Architecture: Materials, Processes, Structures. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2022 (5th edition). § Mettler, Daniel and Studer, Daniel, ETH Zürich – BUK (eds.), Construction, Basel: Birkhäuser, 2021

Lecture slides; Text book;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project;

During the semester students will work individually and iteratively towards the compilation of three deliverables, each spelled out in its own assignment handout, and each with its own weight towards the final course grade. EX01_Atlas of Architectural Topographies [30% of Final Grade] The portfolio will document a methodological research based on the sectional analysis of a set of precedents. The goal of this assignment is twofold: first, to encourage a general awareness as to the signifying complexity of the way in which architecture is a constructed artifice anchored (in)to the ground; second, to develop a capacity for comparative criticism in the process of design. EX02_Forensic Notebook of Architectural Technology [40% of Final Grade] Students will be required to keep a highly organised set of notes consisting of annotated sketches, and graphic explorations in section and axonometry of case studies pertaining to materials discussed during a lecture. Students will analyse the building materials and assembly through drawing, diagramming and annotating, producing investigative and forensic assessments. Final exam [40% of Final Grade] The final exam will be an oral discussion on the course topics. Prior to the exam students will be provided one last opportunity to rework both the previous submissions. A final digital submission will be a prerequisite for the course grade to be registered. The portfolio grade will consider the student’s improvement throughout the semester as well as the craft and quality of curatorial work in the production of the final compilation. Each grade will address all/some of the following rubrics, as specified in the handout sheets: • conceptual response to the task • range and breadth of exploration of the design work process • completion of required representation • execution: craft and quality of representation • effectiveness of visual and written communication.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.