Marcelo Spina, Coordinator
Architecture is about the way we make worlds, worlds populated with subjects and
objects, the definitions of which are always mediated by their cultural significance.
Embedded in that act of 'making' as the transposition and materialization of abstract ideas
into spatial form, is the conception of technology as the necessary means by which that
complex process takes place. The continuous definition and challenge of the multiple ways
we make the world and its physical environment constitute the fundamental motivation of
the Hardtech /Applied Studies program at SCI-Arc. The program offers a range of courses
that critically engage technology and its spatial and social consequences. Foundation
courses are offered in Physics and other sciences, building systems, structural analysis,
tectonics, material development, acoustics, lighting and environmental control. Advanced
courses explore the design consequences of the continued material and technical
development of architectural proposals in the physical world. Elective courses offer the
unique opportunity to further research and experiment with highly specific technologies
that constantly redefine the conventions of architecture as a discipline and as a practice.
Recent courses explore topics as diverse as parametric design, structural optimization,
advanced geometry, composite tectonics, material research and development, complex
assemblies, as well as ecology, biomimicry and solar performance.
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