Class Constructive Methods

This module aims to highlight the close relationship between construction techniques and architectural forms; in other words, how the history of architecture has always been inextricably linked to the history of construction. It thus plays a key role within the study programme as a whole, providing the essential theoretical tools for design practice (horizontal coordination) and reflecting on specific architectural problems that persist throughout the course and may form the core of the future dissertation (vertical coordination).

Not applicable

1] Introduction: The 'life of forms' and the 'Art of Building' 2] Type and Model; Form and Space; Structure and Materiality The 'logical construction of architecture' and some 'Abuses' 3] How am I approaching my project? 4] The trilithic system (Greeks) and its relevance today (Columns, intercolumniations and spans) 5] How am I approaching my project? 6] The arch (Romans) and its relevance today (Pozzolan, reinforced concrete, shoring) 7] How am I approaching my project? 8] The petrification of the falsework (Gothic) and the structural path 9] My project 10] The conquest of height (Baroque) and the loss of scale (Neoclassical) (Chicago Tribune, by Adolf Loos; and Torre do Burgo, by Souto de Moura) 11] My project 12] Architectural ornament (from the ancients to the moderns) (Alberti, Schinkel, Loos, Le Corbusier, et al.) 13] My project 14] Wood, stone, cement, reinforced concrete, steel: Structural behaviour (structure and protection) and architectural expressiveness (Semper and Loos) 15] My project

In the 'Construction Methods' module, a 'design theory' will be explored that fosters a variety of practices. The content is presented to students and discussed collectively; alternatively, students are asked to undertake an individual, reflective reading of their own project. Starting with the question "How am I doing my project?" (a phrase coined by Rossi, based on Raymond Roussel's book, Comment j'ai écrit certains de mes livres?), students are encouraged to reflect on their project choices and their consequences. This exercise fosters interdisciplinary connections, particularly within the project module, and encourages a dialogue conducive to the continuous and consistent acquisition of skills that form the core of learning the craft.

FRAMPTON, Kenneth, Introdução ao Estudo da Cultura Tectónica (tradução: André Martins Barata; revisão técnica: Paulo Martins Barata), cadernos de arquitectura, Lisboa, Associação dos Arquitectos Portugueses e Matosinhos, Contemporânea Editora, 1998.   FRAMPTON, Kenneth, Studies in Tectonic Culture, The Poetics of Construction in Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Architecture (John Cava ed.), Chicago, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in Fine Arts and London, MIT Press, 1995.   GRASSI, Giorgio, La construcción lógica de la Arquitectura (traductor F. Sena Cantarell), Barcelona, C.O.A.C.B., 1973.   LOOS, Adolf, Adolf Loos: escritos (Adolf Opel y Josep Quetglas ed), Madrid, El Croquis, 1993.   TESSENOW, Heinrich, Osservazioni elementari sul costruire (a cura di Giorgio Grassi; trad.Sonia Gessner), 7ª ed., Milano, Franco Angeli, 1987.   VAN-der-ROHE, Mies, Escritos, diálogos y discursos (prólogo James Marston Fitch), Murcia, Colegio Oficial de Aparejadores y Arquitectos, 2003.