Ellinger Vertical Studio- Spring 2008

Faculty: Jefferson A. Ellinger

This studio, as the inaugural undergraduate studio for the Center for Architecture, Science, and Ecology, sought to develop design techniques in which environmental analysis could be computationally scripted into the individual’s design matrix. Parametrically linking the ecologically desires as checks and limitations within a software gives the designer constant and immediate feedback when making design decisions. The intention is to use (program in) the environmental factors as an embedded constraint so that they have a continual and immediate presence; not driving the design intentions but always being present as a primary factor. In this studio, construction systems, overall function and environmental performance took precedence over program and partitioning; however, the primary challenge of the studio is to develop a project with a design thesis that meets those performance criteria.

As with most studios there is a singular program, in this case speculative office space; however, unlike most studios there are multiple sites/climates for the individual projects. The intention here is that by using the ecological technique, the students use environmental diversity rather than programatic specificity as a driving force to produce novel architectural solutions for the project.