Project Brief:

“Synthesizing learnings and understandings from Project 1 and 2, each student will propose a well-considered conceptual and initial design to house the elemental building program detailed below. Projects 1 and 2 serve as essential components in developing a thoughtful, initial architectural proposal. The final project will integrate ideas of space (whether cast, constructed, carved or some hybrid of these three), of material connection and expression, of inhabitation and activity, of the importance of site and siting, and of a particular position as a designer.

It is important to note that this is not a comprehensive project – but an initial attempt to articulate a set of ideas with respect to site, program, material and space. Students will be expected to make quick decisions, and to test these decisions with increasing specificity through drawing and modeling. Remember lessons learned from earlier projects: pay attention to lines and lineweights, be considerate of the ground and the ground-plane, re-call the spatial relationships, thresholds, experiences and atmospheres of earlier studies and your precedent inspirations. Do not forget site analysis, transect explorations, and sectional studies. Integrate and synthesize…”

Project Abstract:

The design foundation for this proposed fire fighter training facility is based on three identified modes of learning. The characteristics defining the active, consultative, and reflective elements of this type of training have been laid out according to the existing conditions and requirements of three adjacent sites: the massing of trees to the west, the intersection of St. Laurent and Industrial Road to the east, and the future residential spaces to the south. These characteristics have been further explored through material and tactile qualities, and mental wellbeing.

project 1

Space and Site // Visualization and Translation

“Carved, Cast and Constructed Spaces is an introductory exercise to explore material construction and architectural drawing conventions. Students will use a range of materials to explore different formal and spatial concepts in a constructed landscape. These materials will be explored through a series of small model making and drawing exercises via manual, digitally-assisted, and hybrid means…”

project 2

Measured, Mapped, and Modeled Site

“Site is not an inert thing. It is an active field, open to interpretation. Site can be drawn and documented in multiple modes, each one constructing a different vision about what matters. Sites are not simply documented but created by making decisions - what is emphasized and what is suppressed – what is utilized and what is removed. Site study requires taking a stance and finding a focus. Drawing, photographing, sketching, collaging and modeling should be deployed to interrogate and to develop and also to challenge your own position, argument, question, or idea…”

The following site analysis is concerned with two major themes: evolving visibilities and mental wellbeing. Serial sections/perspectives provide insight into the degree of visibilities encountered of the current fire fighter training facility on Industrial Avenue from St. Laurent and one block west of the site. Foliage, site topography, and signage were identified as determining factors.

The second theme, mental wellbeing, was studied through additional serial sections focused on the adjacent partially forested buffer zone and the qualities inherent in it (including light and shadow, hard and soft forms, and the effects of sound). This theme has been tied into the current activities and effects on materials on the training grounds itself, as these activities can be broadly characterized as efforts to restore order from chaos (i.e. controlling the physically and emotional destructive characteristic of fire). These activities were more broadly analyzed in the context of adjacent buildings and requirements they pose.