ARC3015Y F
Instructor: Manon Asselin
Meeting Section: L0105
Tuesday, 9:00am - 1:00pm; Friday, 2:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: TBD

Architecture leads to the fabrication of a singular product due to its dependence on a specific site and context. Therefore, the construction of the building often resorts to a constructive experimentation for the implementation of its elements, precisely because of the uniqueness of the object to be manufactured. As architects, this understanding of the design process highlights the fact that spatial thinking and physical making are not linear, but rather proceed by feedback loops. The interrelatedness of design and manufacturing (construction) forms an ecosystem rich in creative possibilities through which the architect remains the main instigator. This ecology of know-how recognizes the added value that comes from overlapping traditional techniques and new digital production methods. By linking the intuitive, technical and cultural dimensions of the act of making through a retroactive process, this approach allows the material to become cultural and the performative a poetic becoming. This understanding of “material” as foundational element of the project leads to a redefinition of construction as the most elemental and catalytic condition of architecture.

In the wake of the recent competition for the new Head Office of the National Bank of Canada in Montreal, the studio proposes to re-examine the architectural typology of the high-rise as testing ground for the proposed design methodology. Between exaltation and economy, architecture here defines the image of the bank in the city while necessarily responding to a planning optimization. Within the given conceptual framework, and as part of defining the new image of the National Bank of Canada, the studio will examine the creative potential of a singular material; aluminum. Infinitely flexible _ bent, rolled, extruded and cast _ aluminum is a significant material of contemporary architectural practice and potentially an iconic Canadian material.

The studio will benefit from the collaboration of façade engineer Marc Simmons of FRONT NY and envelop specialist Katsuhiro Yamazaki of atelier TAG. It will run in parallel with that of Université of Montréal and will involve a trip to the site and shared presentations of research components. The final work of both Universities will be the subject of an architectural exhibition in Montreal as part of the Aluminum Event 18_19 hosted by the Faculté d’Aménagement of University of Montreal.

https://issuu.com/highrise-daniels/docs/how_atelier_tag_is_creating_pub…
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/magazine/08Front-t.html