UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise One: The Personal Space 7 days
With an increasing demand to live in smaller spaces, the Personal Space Problem offers a concentrated opportunity to understand the dimensions of habitat and the furniture that often occupies it. The challenges of finding an appropriate balance between the equipment required for living and the space we need to inhabit requires an understanding of the critical dimensions related to the standing, sitting and lying human body and the equipment, chairs, tables, beds etc. required to accommodate our needs. The challenge of the Personal Space Problem is to define a limited cellular space 4M wide by 8M long by 4M high to cook, eat, work, entertain and sleep in. all at the same time providing a gracious if not ample space to live in. The required equipment, chairs, tables, beds, ovens, stoves, refrigerators, toilets, sinks and showers for both work and play should on the whole be constructed rather then simply imported and must be reinvented to give flexibility to the final living space. One enters one end of the space through a 2M wide corridor. At the other end a 2.5 M deep balcony provides an outdoor escape that also needs to be defined for privacy as well as hold other activities.
On vit de plus en plus dans des espaces de plus en plus petits, cet exercice nous offre l’opportunité de comprendre et d’assimiler les dimensions de l’habitat et l’encombrement des équipements qui le constituent. Le challenge de trouver un équilibre entre les équipements requis et l’espace que l’on doit occuper, suppose de connaître et de comprendre les dimensions minimales relatives à l’encombrement du corps humain (dans ses stations debout, assise et couchée) et de l’encombrement des équipements meubles (chaises, tables, lits). Le but de cet exercice est de définir un espace de 4 m de large, sur 8 m de long par 4 m de hauteur, à l’intérieur duquel on peut cuisiner, manger, travailler, se divertir et dormir en même temps, offrant ainsi un espace confortable à vivre. Les équipements nécessaires : chaises, tables, lits, cuisinière, four, réfrigérateur, toilettes, évier et douche devraient être construits plutôt qu’importés et devraient être reconçus afin d’apporter un maximum de flexibilité à l’espace à vivre final. On pénètre dans cet espace d’une extrémité par un couloir de 2m de large. A l’autre extrémité, un balcon de 2.5 m de profondeur sera un espace extérieur qui accueillera d’autres activités mais qui devra être intimisé.
critics Haifa Fadhlaoui Salma Ben Tanfous Richard Loosle additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet
UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise One: Variation The Boutique Space 7 days
This variation of the Personal Space exercise explores the underlying dimensions of a commercial space, a restaurant or store and the special furniture that often occupies it. Again the challenges of finding an appropriate balance between the equipment required for commerce and the space required demands an understanding of the critical dimensions related to the human body and the storge, display equipment, chairs, and tables, etc. required.
All along the traditional streets in the bazaar or medina, merchants have had a long tradition of making and selling their products to those passing by. Today, many of the essential lessons concerning presentation of the process, display and contact with the passerby have been lost. While the critical need to provide for the storage of materials and processes of fabrication must be accommodated, the art of display becomes equally essential to a successful merchant. You are challenged to present a contemporary solution to an ancient tradition by designing in a 4m wide space 12.5m long by 5m high a space to hold needs of one of the following merchants: A bicycle shop, a ceramic shop, a flower and plant store, a spice store, a coffee or tea-shop with pastries and places to consume the product. Adjacent to the street, an Outdoor Terrace 3 m deep is also available for outdoor use. In each case, sufficient storage and work place should be provided as well one small bathroom for the merchant. A graphic sign designed by you should identify the ‘shop’.
Le long des ruelles traditionnelles dans les souks ou dans les médinas, les marchands ont une longue tradition de confection et de vente de leurs produits aux passants. Aujourd’hui, beaucoup des connaissances de la présentation du savoir-faire, de l’étalage et du contact avec les passants ont été perdues. Tandis que le besoin d’assurer les stocks et les procédés de fabrication doit être facilité, l’art de l’étalage est devenu essentiel au succès d’un marchand. Votre défi est de présenter une solution contemporaine à une tradition ancienne en concevant dans un espace de 4 m de large ( peut-être 8.5 m) sur 12.5 m de long et par 5 m de hauteur, un espace pour satisfaire aux besoins d’un des marchands suivants: Une boutique de bicyclettes, une boutique de céramique, un magasin de fleurs et de plantes, un magasin d’épices, un café ou une boutique de thé avec des emplacements pour consommer le produit. Sur rue, une terrasse extérieure de 3 m de profondeur peut- être aussi utilisée. Dans chacun des cas cités, des emplacements d’étalage suffisants, un endroit pour travailler ainsi qu’une petite salle de bain pour le marchand doivent être pris en compte. Vous concevrez aussi un logo pour identifier la boutique. A bicycle shop, a ceramic shop, a flower and plant store, a spice store, a coffee or tea-shop with pastries and places to consume the product. Adjacent to the street, an Outdoor Terrace 3 m deep is also available for outdoor use. In each case, sufficient storage and work place should be provided as well one small bathroom for the merchant. A graphic sign designed by you should
critics Haifa Fadhlaoui Salma Ben Tanfous Richard Loosle additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet
UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise two: Courtyard Museum or Courtyard HOstel
The interior courtyard is the basic component of most traditional buildings in especially hot climates where for reasons of cultural privacy and security the walled court becomes the dominant negative space in a dense urban fabric. From the courtyard garden houses of Morocco (the riad) to the caravan serais of Iran and Afghanistan, a great diversity of sizes, programs and wealth have been beautifully accommodated. Basim Salim Hakim’s book, the Arabic Islamic City, makes great use of examples from the medina of Tunis to demonstrate a variety of court configurations, from house to palace, from secular warehouse depot to sacred mosque. Even the paradise garden explores the vegetal opposite of the constructed dwelling. This exercise explores possible contemporary uses for such a tendency to define urban habitable spaces. Two teams will explore such possibilities, one leading to a small museum and garden to hold mosaics, the other to a small garden hotel complex. Given the limited time devoted to the exercise, the final program will be schematic in terms of programmed spaces.
The exercise explores the courtyard as a typology rich in its variations of size and special adaption to the unique cultural and environmental concerns found across the Mediterranean and especially in Tunisia. A small hotel or Mosaic Museum becomes the the program to be occupied. Exploring a world within walls, an intimate organization of multiple interior spaces surrounding a central courtyard and interior garden becomes the objective of this exercise.
Le patio ou la cour intérieure est la composante de base de la plupart des bâtiments traditionnels en particulier dans les pays à climats chauds où, pour des raisons culturelles d’intimité et de sécurité la cour devient l’espace négatif dominant dans un tissu urbain dense. Des patios plantés de verdure du Maroc ( les Riadhs) aux caravansérails de l’Iran et de l’Afghanistan, une grande diversité de tailles, de programmes et de richesses ont été magnifiquement aménagés. Le livre de Basim Salim Hakim,” The Arabic Islamic City”, s’appuie sur beaucoup d’exemples de la médina de Tunis pour démontrer la variété des configurations des patios, des maisons aux riches palais, de l’architecture profane à l’architecture sacrée. Cet exercice explore les possibilités d’utilisation contemporaine de ce type de configurations pour définir des espaces urbains habitables. Deux équipes vont explorer des possibilités pareilles, l’une menant à un petit musé de mosaïque planté, l’autre aboutissant à un petit complexe hôtelier planté. Compte tenue du temps limité alloué à l’exercice, le rendu final sera schématique pour les espaces programmés.
Critics Haifa Fadhlaoui Salma Ben Tanfous Bob Hermanson additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet
UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise Four: The Solar Cube a Jazz Club 16 days
Historically the façade of a building has been normally discussed in terms of the relationship between solid and void with multiple theories of proportional systems and their resulting aesthetics debated. This was especially understandable in a time when structures were built in stone and traditional cultures and architects developed beautiful solutions. Today we are seeing an increased use of modern materials, developing technologies and sophisticated means of assembly. Yet today we still encounter the ever-present problems of climate, energy conservation, need for ventilation, fresh air and protection from the elements. The Solar Cube offers the student an opportunity to explore existing as well as new alternatives to defining the exterior envelope of a building, one which places less emphasis on traditional methods of defining the façade yet searches for ‘modern’ ways to define the skin of a building. Studying modern precedents, developing a sensitivity to solar orientation, prevailing winds and the need for natural ventilation become the overlying objectives of the exercise. The resulting assemblages will in fact inspire their own aesthetics. During the first week, students will form teams of two to document various related precedents.
The second part of the exercise will be to occupy the resulting Solar Cube with adjustments to the facades with a Jazz Club that will provide intimate indoor and outdoor performances during the day and the evening. Now the design emphasis will shift towards indoor lighting and the challenge of designing a vertical performance indoor space and a possible horizontally related space outdoors.
D’un point de vue historique, la façade d’un bâtiment relevait, généralement, des relations plein/vide dans un souci de proportion résultant des différentes théories esthétique. Les cultures traditionnelles et leurs architectes ont pu développer de belles solutions cohérentes à une époque où le système structurel du bâtiment était dicté par la construction en pierre. De nos jours, les systèmes constructifs sont multiples et la façade s’est libérée de la structure. Elle répond désormais aux lois d’une technologie en perpétuelle évolution. Les nouveaux matériaux et nouveaux modes d’assemblage se multiplient élargissant le champ des possibles. Cependant, l’aspect climatique est plus que jamais à l’ordre du jour de nos systèmes constructifs. La préservation des énergies appelle aux méthodes bioclimatiques telles que la ventilation naturelle, l’ensoleillement, la protection du bâtiment par la végétation.
Le « Solar Cube », offre à l’étudiant l’opportunité d’explorer différentes alternatives à la conception de l’enveloppe extérieure du bâtiment à travers des projets contemporains ou plus anciens. Le but étant de s’intéresser à des méthodes nouvelles et non traditionnelles.
L’objectif de cet exercice est de développer une certaine sensibilité aux systèmes naturels tels que, les vents et la ventilation, le soleil et la course solaire.
Critics Haifa Fadhlaoui Salma Ben Tanfous Richard Loosle additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet
UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise Four: alternative The Solar Baguette 21 days
Historically the façade of a building has been normally discussed in terms of the relationship between solid and void with multiple theories of proportional systems and their resulting aesthetics debated. This was especially understandable in a time when structures were built in stone and traditional cultures and architects developed beautiful solutions. Today we are seeing an increased use of modern materials, developing technologies and sophisticated means of assembly. Yet today we still encounter the ever-present problems of climate, energy conservation, need for ventilation, fresh air and protection from the elements. The Solar Baguette offers the student an opportunity to explore existing as well as new alternatives to defining the exterior envelope of a building, one which places less emphasis on traditional methods of defining the façade yet searches for ‘modern’ ways to define the skin of a building. Studying modern precedents, developing a sensitivity to solar orientation, prevailing winds and the need for natural ventilation become the overlying objectives of the exercise. The resulting assemblages will in fact inspire their own aesthetics.
Research Boards
Teams of two students are asked to select a project from the accompany list of precedents that demonstrates a sophisticated contemporary building skin attuned to the problems of climate, ventilation and energy conservation, etc. Students should search for reviews on the web or in libraries for descriptive text, photographs, and drawings that explain, critique and detail the fabrication of the façade. Reference and credit to the architects and engineers involved, the date and location of the project and special subcontractors involved must be notedThe resulting precedent studies should provide a growing library for this year’s studio as well as future ones.The resulting precedent studies should provide a growing library for this year’s studio as well as future ones.
Objectives:
Develop a sensitivity to the effects of climate, sun control and natural ventilation on the contemporary design of the exterior facades of a building.
Develop an understanding of materials for construction and their assembly.
Develop an ability to organize programmatic elements and needs into a coherent whole.
Understand the interrelationship between interior and exterior spaces and their activities.
Design an exterior gathering place in terms of both architectural and landscape elements.
critics Hayfa Fadhlaoui Amine Kaabi additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet
UNiversité Tunis Carthage Year Two
Studio Exercise Five: The Hammam 21 days
The history of the Hammam is deeply tied to Islamic Cultures with Tunisia being no exception. In fact the origins of the bath-house go back to Roman times with the largest baths in North Africa, the Antonine Baths in Carthage, dating back to 145 AD being an excellent example. Eventually the ‘dry’ baths of the Romans were replaced by the newer (1534) Ottoman steam baths which in turn inspired today’s bath-houses many of which are still functioning over 400 years. In the Medina of Tunis, El-Kachachin Hammam is one such example. Today’s challenge is to define the bath-houses of the 21st Century but only after exploring historic and contemporary precedents. How will today’s bath complexes take advantage of the garden spas and exterior pools of water of our time. The bath-house complex will serve both women and men at different times or at the same time. It will provide rooms for the spa and bathing both inside as well as outside in a water garden designed by the student. The Therme Vals in Switzerland designed by Peter Zumthor will serve as a possible program. General circulation, preparation and separation of the sexes, the different requirements of the spa, steam and massage rooms and finally accommodating the great variety of water experiences, cold to hot, indoors to outdoors, still to moving, remains a challenge. Yet after all the requirements of the program, the poetics of the experience, the senses, touch, sound and smell of the bath house and its gardens all become part of a cherished retreat from the stresses of daily work.
Il va sans doute que l’histoire des Hammams est étroitement liée à la culture islamique mais en réalité, les origines des bains publics remontent à l’époque romaine. Par ailleurs, les plus grands bains romains sont localisés en Afrique du nord et les termes d’Antonin à Carthage (145 av JC) en sont un excellent exemple. Dans la médina de Tunis, Hammam El-Kachachin est un bon exemple de bain à vapeur construit selon des techniques anciennes. Aujourd’hui, il s’agit de définir les thermes du 21e siècle après avoir exploré des exemples anciens ou plus contemporains. Comment les thermes de nos jours peuvent-ils intégrer les systèmes de bains extérieurs, piscines et spas de jardin. Le projet aura pour défi de gérer la complexité des différents systèmes tels que; la circulation, la préparation, la séparation des circuits hommes/femmes, les cabines de massage, l’hébergement, les spas et bains individuels/communs, la production de vapeur, la gestion des différentes expériences chaudes/froides, intérieures/extérieures. Une fois le programme établi, la conception sera axée sur l’expérience vécue des lieux, la stimulation et la mise en exergue des sens tels que le toucher, l’ouïe, l’odorat et la vue. Les stimuli des bains et des jardins seront la composante principale de ce lieu isolé des stress de la vie quotidienne.
critics Haifa Fadhlaoui Salma Ben Tanfous George Martin additional critic and exercise by Stanley Hallet