ARCH1201. DESIGN STUDIO 3

 
PROJECT.1. ARTIFICE. In this project we were introduced to the Beaux-Arts concepts and techniques of parti and poche, to analyse and deconstruct an assigned villa with the aim of understanding what the architect was thinking as he designed the building. I was given the Mother’s House by Robert Venturi (1962).

We had to reproduce plans and sections of the house, poché, as well as reconstruct the building as a sectional model. A thorough perceptual and conceptual understanding of the villa was expected to be gained through both these exercises, which could then allow a parti to be developed.

Through observing and learning from other members in my group my model making skills were drastically improved over the course of the project. I was encouraged by my tutor to become more expressive in my drawing which has allowed me to begin to develop my own style. Only through gradual understanding, and wide research was I able to develop my ideas the way I did, which I know will be helpful in future design projects.

‘Artifice’ therefore is the technical training of our hands and minds to manipulate the formal and spatial language of architecture.