Advanced Studio V: Fall 1997 Instructor: Dutton and Kwinter Current construction technology is largely based on the distinction of components of buildings into separate industrial trades. There are structural trades (concrete, steel etc.) and cladding trades (aluminum cladding , membranes, glass etc.). A building conventionally has a structure developed by the engineers and cladding developed by architects often with curtain-wall specialists. The building industry depends on these distinctions between professions and trades. Structure holds the building up while cladding keeps the rain out. Cladding as structure becomes more and more rare. However, historically the two were not distinct. the facade of a brick building was both a structural and waterproof skin. As the industry trades become distinct. An example is the McKim, Mead and White buildings on this campus that are steel structure with a brick veneer. This is for reasons of professional expediency. At the design level each profession concentrates on specific and distinct aspects of the building. One does not encroach on the field of the other. At the industry level distinction is made on the basis of trades that deal with the different materials and whether the y are structural or non-structural. On site the issue of construction tolerances and finish quality again distinguishes between visible and non-visible. It simplifies the analytical process of understanding of the different parts of a building. Even some of the most sophisticated of recent work such as the Pyramid at the Louvre in Paris by Pei is characterized by this fundamental distinction. An aluminum frame for the structural silicone glazing system is fixed to an independent structural steel frame. There is a doubling up of "structure" - main frame structure and the cladding structure - despite the expressed architectural intention of maximum architectural transparency and minimalism. Recent technology however can allow an integration of structure and skin. Examples are she ll structures, where steel or concrete can be pushed to follow complex forms. There are also fabric membrane structures where the surface shapes are generated from tensile force lines. In these cases geometric surface complexity has become manageable and analyzable through the use computers. There are also possibilities through our better understanding of the material qualities of conventional cladding materials such as glass allowing them to be exploited as structure. Structure as skin or skin as structure. There is a danger in the belief that a computer guarantees a masters of any complex form, making it instantly transformable into built reality. A critical aspect of work on surface structures is geometrical rigor. The adaptability and appropriateness of the geometry to specific construction techniques should be developed as part of the process of it's definition. The studio proposes and exploration of the syntheses of structure and skin technologies. Contrary to today's distinctions between these elements in both the profession and the construction industry the studio will examine their integration and the role that this composite approach has in architectural expression and in the building process. Students are encouraged to research/invent innovative construction systems for the building envelope. Students shall be asked to design a large free-spanning shed structure on a waterfront site in New York City (to be defined). The program is unknown and it can be used for any purpose that it can respond to. Students can purpose appropriate programmatic functions given the site and the building form. The building shall cover a surface area of 100,000 sq. ft. with a 200 ft. free span. 3000 sq. ft. of the building should be usable for offices or small scale functions. Being on the waterfront, the building can be subjected to some high wind forces. 30% of the external surface should allow penetration of daylight. Student will be asked to produce: A 3D computer model of the roof geometry with a definition of structural members or membrane. A detail of the envelope showing structure and waterproofing surfaces. Specify the materials used for construction The course will last one half of the semester, from the beginning to mid-October. Hugh Dutton shall be in New York between the following dates: September 2-8 September 22-30 October 15-22