Program Overview

Project II: Atelier Grafton

Description

The Atelier Grafton is a university program that focuses on architecture and urban design. Each semester, the program chooses a city or specific context and theme of exploration, serving as a collective framework for personal approaches and different ways of working. The atelier operates in urban environments, considering the city as part of a broader geographical and anthropological context. It values architecture that generates public space, enhancing a sense of community from the city scale to the territory scale, and works with climate, topography, and the world below and above ground. The program encourages students to develop inventive solutions where architecture provides for the well-being and dignity of each citizen and the planet.

Objectives

The aim of the course is to deepen the discussion about architecture in its wider meaning, learning from the past to critically understand the present and imagine a future. The program sees the studio as a space for learning, sharing, experimenting, and dreaming collectively. It emphasizes going beyond the visual, highlighting the role of architecture in the choreography of daily life. The program works at different scales, from the territory to the details, addressing diverse topics such as geology, morphology, culture, space, atmosphere, materiality, construction techniques, economy, and society. The objective is to help students with their academic journey, understanding the role and meaning of the profession as architects.

Sustainable Development Goals

• Sustainable cities and communities
  • Climate action

Teaching Mode

The program is taught in presence.

Learning Methods

The atelier encourages students to experiment with ways of working, approaching a project intuitively, and developing a personal understanding. It is seen as a laboratory for learning, a space to develop personal research within a collective frame, leading to the project's discovery. The program encourages the use of models, big sections as working tools, and sketches as a way of thinking and imagining.

Examination Information

Interim and final reviews are conducted with external guests.

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Architecture, Design atelier, Atelier BSc3, 3rd year
• Master of Science in Architecture, Design atelier, MSc1 - Atelier, 1st year

Additional Information

• Semester: Spring
• Academic year:
• ECTS: 15.0
• Language: English