Studio 22
Idea Factories 2.0
Nicole Allen
Studio Description
The University is changing. Its architecture must adapt and evolve. Australian universities are growing, fast. Like the population they serve, these universities are also becoming more urban, more inclusive, denser and more diverse than ever before. Along with this unprecedented growth, there are massive incentives to broaden and enrich the culture and quality of STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Medicine) education within the university. This push is an existential issue for Australia as competitor in the global market of ideas and innovation. Students and academics want to work differently than they did in the previous century. But too often, they are forced to fight against the buildings they work in; classrooms that are too rigid, long empty corridors, no place to sit down and make something, no place to think, no place to collaborate. IDEA FACTORIES will challenge students to propose a new institute for University of Melbourne that takes on a critical issue in today’s world. Students will then be asked to invent new environments, typologies, spaces, systems and programs to allow that institute to flourish and accomplish its mission.
Methodology
This studio will focus heavily on drawing craft and creation, model craft and creation and critical studio culture.
- Drawing Craft: Students will be asked to study and practice the craft of architectural drawing and representation. In the same way that we study existing buildings as precedents for our designs, we will study existing drawings and models as precedents for our design communication. We will utilize the tools and techniques at our disposal to experiment and refine craft.
- Modelling Craft: Physical models will be a major, mandatory component of the deliverables in the studio. We will research modelling techniques, build iterative study models, consult with modelling experts and craft high quality final models.
- Critical Studio Culture: Studio sessions will be interactive design workshops. Students will be pinning up, work-shopping ideas, and participating in each-other’s pin-ups and desk crits. High levels of participation in this process are fundamental to success in the studio.
Studio Leader
Nicole Allen is an American architect, designer and educator currently based in Melbourne. Nicole recently joined Grimshaw’s Australian practice as a Senior Designer. Previously, she was an associate at New York City-based SHoP Architects where she specialised in the interface between high-density mega-projects and urban centres. In addition to practising, Nicole is a masters studio leader at the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne School of Design (MSD). Nicole holds a Master’s degree in architecture from Columbia University in the City of New York (GSAPP) and a Bachelor of Science in architecture from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her primary interest is advancing the practice of architecture as a tool for creating social justice and human flourishing in cities.
ST1/22 Mondays 18:15-21:15 in MSD Room 138
ST2/22 Thursdays 18:15-21:15 in MSD Room 237