UTSOA

A being dedicated to water is a being in flux. He dies every minute; something of his substance is constantly falling away.

Water is the mistress of liquid language, of smooth flowing language, of continued and continuing language, of language that softens rhythm and gives a uniform substance to differing rhythms.

Gaston Bachelard, Water and Dreams: An Essay on the Imagination of Matter

Water will be the underlying issue for this design studio. The readings, investigations and projects will all focus on this slippery substance. We will explore water at three scales: object (vessel), body (changing room) and building (natatorium). At each scale, we will try to understand the poetic|pragmatic effects of water and their implications on the making of architecture.

The studio will operate as a workshop, or lab, providing a community for practicing and testing our inspirations. Rather than focusing on an 'eureka' moment, the emphasis will be placed on tests -making in all forms- that directly engage the subject -water- and its various properties. There will be two types of work: exercises and problems. The exercises will explore the nature of the material in a narrow and specific manner over a condensed period of time. These short studies will provide a body of knowledge for more comprehensive problems. The problems are design projects that examine multiple architectural concerns (site, program, etc.) as well as apply the knowledge gained through the material studies. The majority of the studio will be devoted to one problem, a natatorium.

The proposal is for a design studio that engages the world in front of us-- beginning and ending with "things."