ARC465H1 S 
Instructor: Jay Pooley
Meeting Section: LEC0101
Winter 2026

The things we make, make us. Our world is shaped by the objects around us and in turn those artifacts begin to shape who we are. Not only in the moments of experiencing the object, but in the experience of making the object. The selection of materials, the limits, the shaping, marking and connection of resources are significant steps in the creative process and contribute deeply to our overall character as designers. The idea that making something is a direct expression of a design language – that making is designing – has not been forgotten. The net result of designing is in fact building.

This course will engage building as a critical component in the language of design. By utilizing the construction of artifacts as a method of discovery, students will map out the memory of a life through the construction of a Wunderkammer or cabinet of curiosities. Derived from an encyclopedic collection of objects, the final assembly will document the exploration of memory through the exercise of making. Students will have the opportunity to develop skillsets in fabrication across a number of materials and methods. Not limited to either analogue or digital building (hand tools or robots), students will be given the opportunity to find the right tool for the job. Readings will cover a platform of architectural and cultural approaches to selections from the history of work, fabrication, construction and craft as they relate to allies in the fine arts, philosophy, theatre and film.