Architecture that is operative in the prelude to energy transition, rather than its wake, must be catalytic of new spatial, social, and energetic organizations and not rely on energy for the derivation of its form. - Elisa IturbeParadigmatic shifts in energy capture and expenditure, from foraging and agriculture to carbon intensive fossil fuels, have each ushered in a radical restructuring of architecture and urban form. With further ecological decline due to the continued extraction of limited resources, an alternative paradigm is necessary if we are to avoid massive global catastrophe. The continued development of forms supporting the current carbon energy flows either hasten their own obsolescence or our own demise. How then can architecture find new postures, organizations, and tectonics that acknowledge a new energy era? While this new paradigm will constitute a novel opportunity to once again renew the patterns of development of our buildings and our cities, we should work toward illuminating pathways that reject carbon-intensive architecture. The studio will encourage the development of solutions that utilize and push the boundaries of mass timber construction in the design of a new museum for San Francisco’s Fort Mason Center. As a point of departure, we will challenge existing typologies and utilize a variety of daylighting techniques as a catalyst for the creation of diverse and dynamic spaces for the experience and protection of art.In this integrated building studio, through iterative prototyping and typological analysis, we will speculate on how a comprehensive approach to building systems can shape the conceptual, formal and experiential nature of the building. Moving beyond the neutrality of the white cube gallery, we will examine the relationship between a work of art, the environment in which it is displayed, and how meaning is conveyed. To this end, we are interested in an approach that encourages a dialogue between artifact, place and an expanding audience.Experiential ArtArt has political consequences, which is to say, it reorganizes society and creates constituencies of people around it.  - Dave HickeyKey to enabling systemic change, expanded constituencies must form around collective ideals and a vision for a shared future. Drawing from the Kramlich Collection, students will be asked to engage with artists from a diverse range of perspectives and backgrounds. This extensive time-based media art collection places “particular emphasis on artists and artworks that create experiences prompting questions and reflection on meaningful aesthetic, ethical, and social issues in our times.” SiteThe site for this new museum for experiential art will be located in the historic Fort Mason Center, an area whose network of piers, warehouses and transportation networks currently serves as an emerging campus for art and culture. While this is a hub of culture and activity, the Fort Mason Center lacks a clear and compelling gateway due to the topography and development of this area. This studio program is designed to enhance the visibility of this place both in content and edifice. Students will be asked to develop building proposals with an urban relationship to the existing buildings and public spaces that give the site its character.

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