Seminar courses

The four Seminar Courses complement the Studio projects with their respective focus on the cultural theory of making as design; ruralism and sustainability theory and practice; fabrication and construction technologies; and the theories of collective design. Together they provide a historical and theoretical foundation of the programme, and introduce the various fields of knowledge relevant to the design of experimental sustainable prototype buildings.  The courses run during Phase 1 and have a common structure and method. Each consists of a series of weekly 2-3 hour sessions, each typically consisting of a seminar presentation by the Seminar Tutor or invited Lecturer, followed by questions and discussions with students.

1. Making as Design

Martin Self

Format: Term 1, 8 weekly seminars

This seminar series explores the histories, theories and cultures of architectural design philosophies that prioritise making. It is intended to equip students with an understanding of the discourse that argues that interaction with the real-world artefact is fundamental to design. Each session explores an instrumental use of making, building up a typology of mechanisms through which making is used in architectural design. Each mechanism is examined through case-studies and key readings, to determine its place in the culture of making in architecture.

Underlying the course is the recognition that, conventionally, the architect is disengaged from actual building (their professional output being limited to provision of production information), but that design relies on intuitive understandings of the physical world that can only be developed through tactile engagement within it. The course explores the various mechanisms of this development, achieved in making by the concrete material engagement of the designer.

Full seminar breakdown here.

2. Agendas of Ruralism

Kate Darby & Jos Smith

Format: Term 1, 8 weekly seminars

This seminar series enables students to place D&M projects within a critical
context informed by the English rural condition. It provides a foundation in the
cultural and societal landscape within which an architect at Hooke Park must operate.
It equips students with the knowledge and mechanisms to form an intellectual
position with respect to contemporary debates surrounding rural architectures and
cultural heritage in our specific geographic, historical and environmental context. It
aims to provoke a personal interest in developing a true sense of place during the 16
months at Hooke Park.

Full seminar breakdown here.

3. Alternative fabrications and anatomies

Jeroen Ameijde and visiting speakers

Format: Term 2, 5 weekly seminars

This 5-session seminar course presents a projective survey of contemporary thinking and practices relating to the new and alternative technologies and anatomies of architecture. The aim is to provoke in students a theoretical and practical attitude towards design that embraces inventive application of the material technologies of architecture. Through readings and case-studies the course examines the material processes of unconventional and emerging fabrication and construction practices, how they are manifested in the anatomies of buildings, and examines their place within the embryonic theoretical discourse that surrounds them.

The twentieth century saw Modernism’s embrace of ‘new construction’ and subsequently the invention of new radical new constructive forms by architect-engineers such as Buckminster-Fuller, Candela, Nervi, Dieste and Frei Otto. The new shift to a focus on ‘fabrication’ has again begun redefining both the practices and theories of architecture. The course explores these practices and theories and aims to place them within the principles of the design-by-making approach.

Full seminar breakdown here.

4. Theories and practices of collective design

Format: Term 2, 5 weekly seminars/visits

This 5-week course examines the emergence of new collaborative practices within architecture and other design industries.  The intent is to equip Design & Make students with an understanding of the contemporary shifts within collective design production, and to provide a theoretical foundation for their collective activities within the group-work components of the programme.

The course consists of 5 sessions with different speakers who present their attitudes towards collective design practice in their respective field. Underlying the course is the ambition to interpret the implications of new information technologies and network-based intelligence.

Full seminar breakdown here.