Open Studio is an interactive project run by the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster to make its design, research and practice-based work available online while it is happening. The site acts as a real time teaching and learning environment in which the work of both students and staff is curated and documented – the work of its design studios, or its other teaching and research groups and workshops. Read more in Blog, follow us on Twitter and like us on Instagram.
“Embodied knowledge challenges the traditional view of knowledge as purely mental and abstract. It highlights the inseparable connection between the body, the mind, and the environment in shaping how we learn, perceive, and understand the world.” Maria Kramer
Louis Kahn, used to tell his students: “If you are ever stuck for inspiration, ask your materials.”
University of Westminster staff and students, led by Maria Kramer, co-designed and co- developed the QHT funded ‘The Floating Hide’ building on last year’s AJ-nominated ‘The Growing Space’ at Cody Dock. Expanding on architectural education, students from the MArch DS20 studio co-designed and co-constructed the bird watching pavilion from the conception, briefing and making in collaboration with WebbYates Engineers and Nicholas Alexander and as part of the Live Design Practice.
The Live Design Practice introduces innovative ways of working collaboratively across sectors, leveraging our multidisciplinary skills within academia for real interventions for the benefit of communities. The structure sits on reclaimed pontoons and is constructed from cedar timber with modular light weight hessian panels treated with gypsum and acrylic resin that have been prefabricated using the principle developed by the engineer Heinz Isler using flexible textiles. Allowing the fabric to hang downward under gravity, results in shapes which are naturally efficient as the hanging structure because it is in pure tension under gravity and did not resist any bending. We explored new techniques based on manipulating materials to understand their innate properties and environmental properties to develop an architecture that embodies the fluidity of the world, where borders are not rigid divisions but dynamic, responsive membranes. Leveraging gravity creates forms that are in pure tension, naturally efficient and structurally sound. The timber structure is made out of cedar and sits on a reclaimed pontoon.
Student feedback:
“The Floating Hide Live Project offers a unique platform for designers to step outside commercial constraints and reflect on the broader implications of their practice. It encourages exploration of alternative approaches, fostering discussions around designers’ role in society and the environment.” Alex Marton
“The Floating Hide Live Project provided a great opportunity to experiment and explore materiality and making. It allowed for us to engage with all the work stages from client and user consultation, to design, making and construction and was a great opportunity to learn in and from the real world. Working with a wide range of specialists and consultants promoted knowledge exchange whilst helping to develop my skills in communication.” Lottie Greenwood
