Course guide of Architectural Projects 2 (2091121)

Those contemplated at the University of Granada in the section on access and admission for undergraduate students in Architecture and the indications and regulations specified in the Syllabus.

Recommendation: To have taken the subject Graphic design and introduction to the architectural project and architectural projects 1

Architectural projects 2: "The architectural project in relation to: construction, form and place".

The concept of space. Light. Function and activities. Geometry. The construction of form. Systems for approaching the place. The environment. Adaptation to the environment. Experimentation and testing. Working structures.

This subject initiates a stage in which we reflect on the nature of ideas and how they arise in the creative process of Architecture. The subject descriptor "Form, Construction and Place" introduces arguments that provoke actions that trigger a creative act and find in form the material translation of thought. Place appears as a physical reality, but also as a cultural or historical reality. The nature of Architecture as a process associated with questions of context, space, form, fiction and technique is addressed. Architecture gives form to ideas and in this sense becomes descriptive.

Definition of complex compositions. Compositions on given types related to the city. Privacy, habitability, functionality. Simple residential projects.

Since the beginning of the history of architecture, the need to build a space in which to shelter from the inclemency of the weather, to protect oneself from enemies and to store food or objects has been linked to the conditions of the territory and the physical environment in which man settled. The idea of staying in a place and adapting to its physical and climatic conditions is one of the primary needs that arose when people ceased to be nomadic. Since then, the evolution in the ways of inhabiting and the incorporation of new uses to the domestic space have been determining this adaptation to the environment in a more artificial and, on some occasions, destructive way with the landscape.

Understanding the physical environment as another interlocutor of the project implies a return to the origin of the domestic space as a need to inhabit a place, where architecture is understood as a space to house a series of activities that man projects on a territory.

The aim of the subject Architectural Projects 2 will be to work on a given physical environment to discover how we have to live in it, what possibilities it offers us, what variables, what its climatology is; its agricultural, productive, maritime, urban landscape... In these conditions architecture cannot be considered an aesthetic experience or an exercise in architectural composition, but is produced from the relationship and exchange with the territory, it is contaminated by the environment to build a new hybrid landscape between the needs posed and the place of settlement. The domestic space is conditioned by the geographical features, topography, climate, territory, tradition, technology or culture of the place, which can determine not only its final form, but also the way in which it is self-sufficient or generates energy.

During the course we will work on concepts such as light, spatial configuration, geometry, dimensions, function and use, and the construction of form, among others, associated with the place and the idea of adaptation to the environment.

The aim is to encourage experimentation and testing on the domestic space associated with a given environment in each of the exercises to be developed, and to establish a process of reflection, knowledge and research in which the following concepts will be taken into account:

• The Project as a process
• The graphic medium in relation to the action of projecting.
• Architecture as a cultural and social fact.
• Development of critical capacity as a results control mechanism.

Architecture and the physical environment: form, construction and place.

"Place as structure: Territory, type and morphology; landscapes. Place and heritage".

Themes of the theoretical sessions:

• Generating idea: The project as a Process.
• The Project: documentary process.
• Transmission of the idea: Graphic medium.
• The place: Physical environment.
• The dream house.
• The habitat. Function and metric.

General topics of the course:

Form, construction and place. The concept of space. Light. Function and activities. Geometry. The construction of form. Systems for approaching the place. The environment. Adaptation to the environment. Experimentation and testing. Working structures.

We will study and understand the landscape or the environment as the germ of Architecture, as a project premise, the level of involvement being absolutely subjective and personal, depending on the capacity to understand the message that the environment itself sends us; it will be necessary to develop a personal sensitivity capable of listening to this message. The landscape is intervened in architecture, engineering and sculpture, in large-scale proportions, and this optic of possible dominion creates a new way of understanding the relationship of certain civil or engineering works with nature, which can be read as large sculptures that order or create visions of the landscape, constituting new landmarks of reference of the place. We will see how nature, which is not only a frame for architecture, has been the object of intervention to adapt it and achieve a dynamic effect in the vision of the building (romanticism), which went beyond the vision of the conical perspective to reach the exterior "promenade" that Le Corbusier would take to the interior of the Ville Savoye. Time and light can be understood as a fourth dimension in this recreation of the place.

The domestic space may be conditioned by some physical or formal quality, geographical features, topography, climate, territory, tradition, technology or culture... which may determine not only the final form, but also the way in which it is self-sufficient or generates energy. Bearing in mind that we are trying to study the place in order to intervene in it, we will have to set objective and subjective parameters that should make us think about this opportunity, understanding that our field of study will not be the same if we are going to design a house, a church, a palace, a block of flats or a whole housing estate. Faced with this possibility, our approach will necessarily be different, although we will always analyse parameters of this type:

In more detail:

• Physical environment: Soil, topography, geology, vegetation, climate, orientation, views, infrastructure, noise, etc.
• Technological means: Construction systems, materials, installations, maintenance.
• Economic means: Budget availability, limitations, financing.
• Legal conditions: Property system, easements, urban conditions.
• Socio-cultural criteria: Gender of life, culture, ETHOS, worldview, necessary symbolism, etc.

Structure of practical content

Structure of the practical content

During the four-month period (15 weeks) there will be two exercises, one short and one longer, to be carried out individually, and two practical exercises, with the following percentages in the final grade:

• Exercise 1: the dream house. This exercise is about how to project a habitable space that is impregnated with the first impressions and discoveries about a territory and its qualities. It is an exercise in imagination about the domestic space that aims to explore the possibilities that it offers, associated with the landscape, the territory, the material with which it is built and the time of occupation established. Duration: 7 weeks
• Exercise 2: the house, the inhabitant and the place. This exercise aims to develop the resolution of a functional programme in relation to the spatial qualities of a domestic environment. The project must propose relations between the context, the needs of the client and the possibilities of the space in relation to light, visuals or proportions. Duration 8 weeks

Practices:

• Domestic architectures: based on the development and promotion of architectural culture.
• Draw your house: to recognise and learn the measurements of the space in which we usually live.

It is advisable for each student to have a sketchbook in which to record the work developed during the course. This notebook, in the form of a diary or album of images, will contain the research and reflections carried out on the exercises: travel photos, drawings, class notes, and anything else that has been of personal interest for each exercise.

At the beginning of the course, students will be provided with the subject statement with the two exercises and the two practical exercises to be carried out during the course. This statement will be uploaded to the PRADO teaching platform.

Generic bibliography

• AA.VV, Pos-it City. Ciudades ocasionales, edit. Centro de Cultura Contemporánea de Barcelona y Diputación de Barcelona, Barcelona, 2008
• AA.VV.: José Ramón Sierra. 2015. Sevilla: Recolectores Urbanos Editorial.2015.
• AA.VV., Publicación JAE Jóvenes Arquitectos de España edit. Ministerio de la Vivienda
• AA.VV., AV nº 120 Casa nuestra
• AA.VV., Vivienda unifamiliar, Editorial Pencil
• ÁBALOS, I., La Buena Vida. Ed. G. Gili. Barcelona 2000.
• APARICIO GUISADO, J.M., El muro. Librería Técnica CP67 S.A. Madrid 2000.
• BENÉVOLO, L., Introducción a la Arquitectura, edit. Celeste Ediciones, Madrid, 1993
• DUNSTER, D., 100 casas unifamiliares de la arquitectura del siglo xx. G.Gili. México 1994.
• KHAN, L. Forma y Diseño. Ed. Nueva Visión. Buenos Aires 1984.
• KOOLHAAS, R., La ciudad genérica, edit. Gustavo Gili, Colección Mínima, Barcelona, 2006
• LE CORBUSIER, Una pequeña casa, edit. Ediciones Infinito, Buenos Aires 2008, Colección Arquitectura ConTextos, edit. Gustavo Gili, Barcelona, 1993
• MARTÍ ARÍS, C., Silencios elocuentes, Ed UPC. Barcelona 2002.
• MARTI ARIS, C. Las formas de la residencia en la ciudad moderna. Ed. Serbal Barcelona 1.991
• MONTANER J.M. y DOMINGO SANTOS, J., Experiencias, “Las casas de la existencia”, edit. Máster ce Laboratorio de la vivienda del siglo XXI, Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona 2009
• MONTEYS, X. La habitación. Más allá de la sala de estar. Ed. G. Gili. Barcelona 2014.
• MONTEYS, X. y FUERTES, P. Casa Collage. Un ensayo sobre la arquitectura de la casa. Ed. G. Gili. Barcelona 2.001.
• MOORE, Ch.: La casa: Forma y diseño. Ed. G. Gili. Barcelona 1977.
• PALLASMAA, Juhani: Los ojos de la piel. La arquitectura y los sentidos. Barcelona: Gustavo Gili, 2014. Pág. 57.
• PARICIO, I. y SUST, X. La vivienda contemporánea: Programa y tecnología. I.T.E.C. Barcelona. 1.998.
• PIÑÓN, H., Curso básico de proyectos, edit. Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña, Barcelona
• PIÑON, H. Teoría del proyecto. Ed. UPC. Barcelona. 2006
• QUARONI, L. Proyectar un edificio. Madrid Xarait. 1980.
• SBRIGLIO, J., Le Corbusier. La villa Savoye, edit. Abada Editores S.L., Madrid 2005
• SHARR, A., La cabaña de Heidegger. Un espacio para pensar. GG, Barcelona, 2015
• SMITHSON, Alison y Peter: Cambiando el arte de habitar, Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili. 2001.
• TAUT, Bruno: Una casa para habitar, Facsímil a cargo de José Manuel Pozo, Navarra: Universidad de Navarra, 2015.
• TANIZAKI, J., El elogio de la sombra. Ed, Siruela. Madrid 1994.
• TRILLO DE LEYVA, J.L.: Razones poéticas en Arquitectura, Sevilla 1993.
• TRILLO DE LEYVA, J.L., Argumentos sobre la contigüidad en la arquitectura, edit. Universidad de Sevilla, Sevilla.
• VENTURI, R. Complejidad y Contradicción en arquitectura. Ed. G.Gili. Barcelona 1972

Digital Bibliography

• Afasia Archzine
• ArchDaily
• Elcroquis
• Colección de casas olvidadas

The specific bibliography of the course will be specified in the statement of the exercises that will be handed out at the beginning of the term.

• MD01. Lección magistral/expositiva 
• MD02. Sesiones de discusión y debate 
• MD03. Resolución de problemas y estudio de casos prácticos 
• MD05. Prácticas de campo 
• MD07. Seminarios 
• MD08. Ejercicios de simulación 
• MD09. Análisis de fuentes y documentos 
• MD10. Realización de trabajos en grupo 
• MD11. Realización de trabajos individuales 

The evaluation of the course will be carried out in accordance with the current regulations for the evaluation and grading of students at the University of Granada.

Ordinary exam

For the ordinary exam, it will be preferable to take this subject by means of Continuous Assessment of the student, although in exceptional cases, a single final assessment is contemplated, provided that the student requests it within the deadlines established by these regulations, alleging and accrediting the reasons for not being able to follow the continuous assessment system.

Continuous assessment

The system of continuous assessment of each student's work allows the student's evolution throughout the course and the maturity of their ideas to be assessed by means of a series of exercises directed by the teacher in relation to the contents of the subject. In order to pass the course, the student must comply with the delivery schedule and development stages of each exercise proposed in the course description.

Due to its practical nature, the ordinary final exam will consist of the delivery of the work developed in the workshop during the course, on the date and in the place indicated in the official exam calendar approved by the School Board.

The assessment criteria for the exercises will be based on the following aspects:

• Permanence and participation. Workshop teaching requires the continued attendance of teachers and students in class. Continuous evaluation, public exchange of information, recapitulations of exercises and critical sessions are meaningless without the permanence and constant participation of workshop teachers and students. It is intended that students use part of class hours to complete their proposals.
• Critical attitude. All learning requires a personal disposition towards the knowledge discussed. A provision that, in this case, does not refer only to specific contents of teaching, but has to do with an attitude towards things and the effects that this attitude has on each person's personality. It is, therefore, about encouraging the student to develop a certain critical awareness towards the work they do.
• Interpretation and argumentation. Every project activity is based on a program of needs and a base territory, which leads to the need to acquire a critical and personal judgment about the workplace and the current circumstances in which the architectural project is developed. It is necessary to interpret reality and the program, to place oneself in front of the activity, what does it refer to?, to be able to argue about it. Establish a logical sequence between the proposal and the final idea of ​​the project.
• Representation. Academic activity in workshops is a simulation of constructive activity, drawing is the first construction of an idea and, therefore, an essential means to express ourselves in architecture. The drawing will have two profiles: one that tries to establish a universal language that serves as communication with other people; and a more personal profile, with which to test your own ideas. In both, the architect's ability to express himself is equally important. Equally important is the development of other techniques with which the student can express the arguments of the project or certain developments thereof. In any case, the documentation presented must allow the understanding of the project through a sufficient definition of the geometry and construction of the planned building, assessing clarity, precision, rigor, coherence and concreteness.
• Constructive logic. The materials and their various characteristics, the force of gravity, the facilities and the construction systems constitute an inevitable guideline of the project, the logical adaptation to these limitations is an essential value in the consideration of each proposal.
• Media economy. In the physical and intellectual environment we can speak of “economy of means” as the attitude to eliminate everything that is superfluous or not essential for the goal pursued, including in this concept the greater or lesser complexity of each proposal.
• Project quality in order to the following aspects:
  1. The coherence and general adequacy of the project in its formal, functional and technological aspects with respect to the objectives and intentions stated by the author.
  2. The appropriate relationship between the project and its context, understood in its broadest sense: geographical, urban, cultural, social, architectural, technological, etc. The adequate implementation of the architecture in the place in relation to the topography, climate or orientation, as well as the other environmental conditions (urban planning, protection, accessibility, and other techniques)
  3. The correct solution of the uses program.
  4. The opportunity, suitability, feasibility, effectiveness and interest of the proposed architecture.
  5. Attention to construction techniques and their use as project generating material, with criteria of rationality and sustainability.
  6. The adequacy in the choice of the systems that make up the projected architecture and the degree of coherence between them: shape, structure, envelope, spatial organization, construction, installations, finishes, etc.
  7. Attention to the aesthetic component and perceptual control of the proposed architectural form and its relationship with its environment.
  8. The degree of innovation in the project, in any of its aspects

Numerical evaluation

At the end of each exercise presented by the student throughout the course in the different partial deliveries, the teacher will make a critical assessment of the work and will communicate to the student the provisional grade obtained in each of them.

Assessment of the proposed exercises:

• Exercise 1: the dream house: 30%
• Exercise 2: the house, the inhabitant and the place: 60%
• Practices:
  • Domestic architectures: 5%
  • Draw your house: 5%

The final grade of the course will be obtained on the day of the ordinary exam after the complete and revised presentation by the student of all the exercises and practices carried out during the course according to the critical evaluation previously carried out by the teacher. This final grade will be the weighted average of the different exercises and practices, although depending on the path followed by the student, his attendance, attitude and participation in class, the final grade could exceed this weighted average. In order to pass the course, both Exercise 1 and Exercise 2 must have obtained the minimum grade of a pass mark of 5.

In order to pass the subject, it will be an essential requirement that the student has attended at least 80% of the classes and activities scheduled during the course, as well as having presented all the assignments during the course on the dates established for the different deliveries.

All students who have not passed the subject in the ordinary call may attend, regardless of whether or not they have followed the continuous evaluation process.

The exam will consist of two tests:

1. A first test consisting of the presentation and oral presentation of all the course work together with the work processes (sketchbook, drawings, models, perspectives, etc. that explain the projects carried out by the student until reaching the final solution), in accordance with the contents and development established in the subject statement (60% of the grade).
2. And a second test consisting of the completion of an exercise with classroom development related to the subject of the course during the time established for the exam, which the student will present to the teacher on the same day at the end of the test (40% of the grade).

The assessment criteria for the work carried out in both exams will be the same as those established for the continuous assessment (except for the section "Permanence and participation").

The grade for the course will be the weighted average of the two exams (60% for A) and 40% for B)). In any case, in order to pass the exam, students must obtain a minimum grade of 5 in Exercise 1 and Exercise 2 of the first test, as well as in the exercise with on-site development of the second test.

The exam will consist of two tests:

1. A first test consisting of the presentation and oral presentation of all the course work together with the work processes (sketchbook, drawings, models, perspectives, etc. that explain the projects carried out by the student until reaching the final solution), in accordance with the contents and development established in the subject statement (60% of the grade).
2. And a second test consisting of the completion of an exercise with classroom development related to the subject of the course during the time established for the exam, which the student will present to the teacher on the same day at the end of the test (40% of the grade).

The assessment criteria for the work carried out in both exams will be the same as those established for the continuous assessment (except for the section "Permanence and participation").

The grade for the course will be the weighted average of the two exams (60% for A) and 40% for B)). In any case, in order to pass the exam, students must obtain a minimum grade of 5 in Exercise 1 and Exercise 2 of the first test, as well as in the exercise with on-site development of the second test.

Training activities

The project is an activity that involves theory and practice in itself. It is therefore not possible to separate theory from praxis; it is a single and complete action, with a broad dimension. From the pedagogical point of view, the approaches to the construction of the project are carried out through the development of different activities such as program presentations, production of information, critical analysis, orientation sessions and debates, etc. All of them, activities aimed at building the body of the project:

• Presentation of the course program and phases
• Presentation of exercises
• Critical analysis (Sessions aimed at graphic and oral analysis of architectural projects. Reflection on concepts related to the course content).
• Recapitulations (Orientation sessions and group discussions on the proposals under development).
• Critical Sessions (Graphic and oral review of the results of each exercise. Joint debate on the same)
• Trips, workshops, seminars, conferences, visits...

Visits to the work sites are essential and constitute an approximation to what is understood as real or imaginary physical territory. The information coming from the recognition of the physical space where the intervention will take place and its possibilities is fundamental for the construction of the project. The realization of the mapping as a broad census of sensitivities of an environment constitutes the basic argument for the reformulation of new programs. The course is completed with other visits and cultural trips that help to further the student's education.

The lectures will offer a specialized or complementary look at the subject of work and will be given by specific teachers of the subject and others invited for the occasion.

The distribution of credits is not homogeneous among these activities, although the average number of credits for each of them is 15% of the total for the theoretical sessions of the course; 75% for the development of individualized and group work, with critical analysis and recapitulations; and the remaining 10% for the collective presentations in the workshop and critical sessions with jury participation.

Following the recommendations of the CRUE and the Secretariat of Inclusion and Diversity of the UGR, the systems of acquisition and evaluation of competences included in this teaching guide will be applied in accordance with the principle of design for all people, facilitating learning and the demonstration of knowledge.

Compliance with UGR regulations

For everything included and not included in this Teaching Guide related to Evaluation, Calls, Grades, System, Publications and Revision, the provisions of the Regulations for the Evaluation and Grading of Students of the University of Granada will be followed.

Following the recommendations of the CRUE and the Secretariat for Inclusion of the UGR (Vice-rectorate for Equality, Inclusion and Diversity), the systems of acquisition and evaluation of competences included in this teaching guide will be applied in accordance with the principle of equality, inclusion and diversity of all people.

Information of interest for students with disabilities and/or Specific Educational Support Needs (SEN): Management of services and support (https://ve.ugr.es/servicios/atencion-social/estudiantes-con-discapacidad).