During the course students are expected to: - develop Forensic Literacy: deliver a conceptually clear, tectonically well-resolved constructive analysis and associated documentation of case studies; - demonstrate the Thinking Hand: 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, masonry, steel, timber, stone, and glass, evidenced through hand-drawn 2D and 3D sketches that emphasise hierarchy and line weight; - demonstrate Topographic Continuity: understand the building as a "root" that does not stop at the floor line but continues into the geotechnical reality of the soil, informing the two-dimensional graphic representation of detail design development; - demonstrate an Ethics of Assembly: distinguish between structural (permanent), performance (insulating), and sacrificial (weathering) layers, and reason about their respective lifespans and accountabilities; - demonstrate Assembly Logic: analyse buildings as kits of parts to be disassembled, repaired, or reconfigured. 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 the constraints of production, and well-produced, well-curated work.

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

The course engages students on two parallel fronts, in order to establish a ground — both physical and theoretical — onto which to operate. Part 1: Foundations — The Diagnostic Atlas (2 cfu) Provides a theoretical framework across different geographical and cultural areas, where each student is invited to address how the link between the built object and its site is established. Using the notion of "topography" quite literally — that is, "writing a place" — students recognise, analyse, and investigate grounding notions, and experiment with the vertical cross-section as the main representational tool. The section is used to reveal the Earthwork: the hidden transaction between the building and the geological sub-grade, including footings, drainage, thermal coupling, and soil retention. Part 2: Process — The Forensic Notebook (4 cfu) Exposes students to the individual materials that go into building construction: concrete, masonry, timber, steel, stone, and glass. Each material is addressed through successive exercises that iteratively build upon each other, critically seeking to understand the intersections of climate, infrastructure, and architecture. Through a 1:20 "zoom-in," students interrogate the Roofwork: the lightweight systems of enclosure where material, labour, and climate converge. Lectures show how materials come together to produce architectural enclosure and structural assembly, and how structure, materials, and the methods by which they are selected, have deep aesthetic, economic, social and operational implications, with every joint treated as a site of negotiation between poetic intent and technical necessity.

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

Structured around parallel formats, the course teaches the fundamentals of building construction technologies through the attendance of lectures, independent reading and research, response to assignments and weekly tutorials / take-home exercises, the production of analytical hand-drawn 2D and 3D sketches, and the research and presentation of assigned precedent case studies that correlate to the lecture subject matter. The drawing is treated as a mode of forensic inquiry and as a collaborative act: sketches are shared, critiqued, and refined through peer discussion, and the class operates as a workshop of material experimentation. Students work individually and are required to use the following: - a digital and/or physical sketchbook, which helps 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 teaches students how to collect, interpret and present information to others, and by default instils the knowledge within themselves. Students must arrive prepared for each session: complete the assigned readings, bring drafting tools, and have work-in-progress ready for review and discussion.

- 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. - Frampton, Kenneth, Studies in Tectonic Culture, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1995. - Howeler, Eric, Design for Construction. Tectonic Imagination in Contemporary Architecture, New York: Routledge, 2025.

Lecture slides; Text book;

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Individual graphic design project;

During the semester students work individually and iteratively towards the compilation of two deliverables, each spelled out in its own assignment handout and each with its own weight towards the final course grade, which is conferred and discussed during a final oral exam. EX01 — Atlas of Architectural Topographies [20% of Final Grade] A methodological investigation of physical and cultural anchoring. The portfolio documents a sectional analysis of a set of precedents. The goal is twofold: first, to develop a general awareness of the signifying complexity by 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 Tectonics [50% of Final Grade] A forensic investigation of material joints. Students keep a highly organised set of notes consisting of annotated sketches and graphic explorations of case studies pertaining to materials discussed during a lecture, analysing building materials and assemblies through drawing, diagramming and annotation, and producing investigative and forensic assessments. Final exam [30% of Final Grade] The final exam is an oral discussion on the course topics, and an opportunity to discuss with each student specific elements of the course and of the assignments, testing their individual level of learning. Prior to the exam students are given one last opportunity to rework both previous submissions. The portfolio grade considers 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 addresses all or 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.