Studio D/01

Just a house, an apartment...and maybe even some units

Colby Vexler

Studio Description

Housing requires complex organisation. Scale, dimensions, proportions, typological arrangements and layouts distinguish one form of housing from another.

This is hard, so we focus on nothing more than what they are, Just a house, an apartment...and maybe even some units. We don’t need a narrative, just a sensibility...or an attitude at the very least. Here we observe, remark and speculate on the obvious and overlooked aspects of well known typologies – from the single family house to the studio apartment.

This time we do not start with the empty lot, but the already existing outer suburb house and the inner urban unit.

With minor renovations to significant re-planning, we will ask many questions, like: at what point can a house become two semi-detached units? Or, a unit a single family house with a guest room? While we try to figure things out we do not claim to propose housing solutions but instead re-understand what is plausible and compelling within the Contemporary.

Studio Outcomes

This work does not offer housing solutions, perpetuate “ideal living” fantasies or re-affirm unsubstantiated “practical” tropes about contemporary housing.

Instead, the studio draws heavily from perceptual interpretations of notable precedent to encourage genuinely considered observations, profound moments of understanding, and subtle architectural outcomes. For us, the non-typical and unconventional is not synonymous with the unliveable or impractical...after all, these are places to inhabit.

The plan, elevation and render are not things to be taken lightly. Neither are terms such as rooms, corridors, patios or verandas. Stuff, things and furniture are never merely decorative or indicative of use, but work much harder to be critical of the assemblage they belong to. Here we do not populate and program but re-arrange, re-assemble and re-consider.

In doing so, the work attempts to re-understand the obvious complexities that make up certain housing typologies.

Well organised, precise, highly literal, but still a bit ambiguous, the final outcome will hope to re-perceive the way we can inhabit already existing housing, namely the outer suburban house and the inner urban unit.

*Note: this studio will strictly operate through group work. It is expected that students in this class have the skill set to work professionally in groups through equal contribution, rapid refinement and critical conversation. We see each group acting as an office, who work together to produce a single, highly refined outcome.

Further, while this studio will run primarily on campus, occasional sessions will also be held on Zoom.

Studio Leader

Colby Vexler is an architectural researcher and practitioner. He is also the editor of online contemporary architectural publication, cc:Journal.

Readings & References

A reading list will be provided to students in week 1.

Outside of this, we hope prospective students of this studio will immerse themselves in contemporary practice by exploring projects published in 2G, El Croquis, GA, JA and A+U. Further, we hope students will be avid readers of journals such as OASE, San Rocco, Accattone and The Architecture Review. This is because readings and references will allow students to better navigate the complex and ambivalent canon in which their projects are expected to sit.

Schedule Tuesdays 12:00-15:00 and Fridays 15:15-18:15 in MSD Room 140

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