unit-code
This year PG25 is running architectural research and creative practice in parallel. We asked what constitutes an ecology of architectural knowledge, with a particular emphasis on each student’s underlying practice. The unit helps students develop a practice that is individual to their fascinations, with an emphasis on the processes, material and media that can carry a particular form of speculation. Research and practice are developed simultaneously, both through experimentation and careful reflection. Although the academic year typically places emphasis on the final project, this year we acknowledged that most practitioners have a practice that constantly evolves and transcends an individual project.
One of the pleasures of architecture is that it first gathers many ideas and interests, then makes sense of them through an assembly that is richer and more telling than the parts. Where does the knowledge enabling us to do this come from and how do we further that knowledge? We have investigated how new architectural knowledge is generated while also learning from the past. We also explored the ongoing studies of architects and artists in other fields, examining ideas and acts of practise to develop skills and sensibilities. We were specifically interested in how spatial networks equate to ecological networks across disciplines, and the ways in which architectural knowledge exists within larger networks.
Our site this year was the Isle of Portland, Dorset. Unimaginable volumes of stone have been extracted from the island to build London’s monuments (one million cubic feet for St Paul’s Cathedral alone). The combination of the given geology and subtractive quarrying have created a captivating landscape. As stone is having a renaissance as a sustainable material and a more economically viable material to work with due to CNC tools, Portland provides an opportunity to study the rich history of stone construction and to speculate on its future possibilities.