After successful completion of the course, students are able to formulate a socially relevant position in the form of an architectural design at a specific location with a specific program based on a critical analysis of existing spatial and social framework conditions.
The design studio aims to research and develop a BRICK ACADEMY in the trilateral Goričko–Örseg–Raab Natural Park, which adresses the potentials of the rural region, its material resources and craftsmanship. A site in the village of Grad will serve as a testing ground for the research and manufacturing of the brick.
Where do the materials come from that we use to build our houses? In regard to the objective of generating a resource-saving society implementing a sustainable small-cycle economy, solutions to this question are urgently required. According to the UN, buildings and construction are accountable for 39% of all CO2 emissions, 28% present operational emissions and 11% there of present embodied carbon emissions related to materials and construction processes. In addition, the carbon footprint of each material is even increased through transportation and finally demolition. The proximity between raw material extraction and further processing, between producer and consumer, must again become a criterion for profitability. The conversion of existing buildings, their transformation and expansion must again be cheaper than to build anew. The linear understanding of material cycles must give way to a circular understanding that takes reuse and recycling into account. And we architects have the responsibility to apply a culture of conscious handling of material in our designs.
With this in mind, we will look at brick as building material in the Goričk-Örseg-Raab Natural Park within the design studio. Clay – in different processing and combinations – is the material from which the houses in this area are built. Many of the smallholder farms in the flowing hilly landscape of mixed forests and agricultural areas are empty today. They are an expression of the change that has taken place on different levels, while forming an interesting resource that calls for new initiatives.
The site of the BRICK ACADEMY is located at the southern entrance to the village of Grad. Brick defines the building material for the building to be designed as well as its programme: In the premises, innovative material compositions and production processes are to be tested and traditional as well as newly generated knowledge conveyed. The existing buildings, which are located on the building site, should be considered in the design as both a spatial and a material resource.
As part of an excursion to Goričko we will examine masonry and structural fragments on site and discuss the historical and cultural background to the region, the concept of landscape in architecture, typologies of rural areas, traditional construction methods and the concept of nanotourism*.
* nanotourism is a participatory, locally oriented, responsible, bottom-up alternative to mass-tourism initiated by Aljosa Dekleva and Tina Gregoric in 2014
