This course introduces a process-based framework for understanding the morphological and performative qualities of building materials and construction methods. In a lecture/laboratory format, students explore the reciprocal relationships among form, tectonics, and performance. The course tracks the historical development of common architectural materials as well as their contemporary cradle-to-cradle lifecycles. Emphasis is placed on the critical properties that affect material performance in buildings. In parallel, the course examines how materials are processed and assembled to become building components, tectonic systems, and ultimately how they define architectural space.

In subject:

• Architecture

Undergraduate