This studio explored the formal and figural language of off-the-shelf construction elements, ranging from everyday elements like bricks, aluminum studs and gypsum board to the unseen infrastructural plumbing pipes, electrical boxes and HVAC ducts. Our catalogue of common building references was repositioned into new frameworks, transforming the reference into something more conceptual. Rather than treating their assembly as a set of prescribed norms, we treated these building elements as expressive characters, each with their own unique set of embedded geometries, formal properties and material expressions. Our inventory of parts were reconfigured into new assemblies, pushing the boundaries of tectonics and asking new questions about the qualities of standardized objects.

The studio also investigated the role of materiality in our visual age of rapidly changing materials and media. At a moment in building history, where a large part of the construction process is focused on the ability to mimic expensive finishes, architecture has assumed a much more image based role in the production of affect. This immaterial environment of faux finishes has put into question the inherent meaning behind tectonic form. Through discussing topics of shape, figure and character, we explored the flattening of material and space, opening up new conversations on texture, surface and color.