Design Studio A Room for the Public

The design course “A room for the public” will address public in-between spaces, with a special focus on the “loggia” as a building type that is located and mediating between public and private space. A close reading of known historical and contemporary examples as case studies is followed by an analysis, reflection and short designs on conversion or further construction of the case studies.

“The phenomenon of intermediate space demonstrates that the characteristics of inside and outside, body and space, closure and openness, private and public, need not represent irreconcilable polarities, but that the one can be achieved with the assistance of its counterpart“  – Fundamental Concepts of Architecture, Janson/Tigges

 

Intermediate or in-between spaces belong to the building and at the same time to the surrounding space outside. They articulate connections and transition between one space to the next. In-between spaces attain a public character, sometimes by being open on one side, or by distinct architectural elements. They allow for different uses, and operate as a zone of interaction. Arcades, galleries, loggias, vestibules are all variations of in-between space and form specific types.

In the design studio “A room for the public“, we will pay particular attention to the loggia type as an open public room, formed within the boundary of the building. What are its specific architectural elements? How did this type and its uses evolve over time? How is it conditioned and in turn influence the surrounding space? And how does this type of space mediate between open and enclosed space and illustrate social and political conditions? And how can we reimagine and further develop these types of in-between spaces?

Though reading relevant literature and by a close reading of historical as well as contemporary examples as case-studies, the students will have the task of studying and examining the loggia as a type of in-between space and use their findings as a base for redrawing, expanding and redefining those case-studies.

Within the scope of our design and research studio, we will also explore different methods of drawing. As a reference for the drawings, we would like to draw on the illustrations by Friedl Dicker/Franz Singer, in which different drawing contents were superimposed and depicted layer by layer.

Reading, analysis of typological references, and experiments with different drawings and illustration methods.