An architectural typology is an abstract object that encodes social, cultural, and environmental knowledge across all scales, from spatial structure to construction drawings. The system of ordering (of typology) is not merely a solution to be applied, but rather a set of conditions that help anchor architectural thinking, and opens opportunities to investigate socio-cultural norms.
Much like Theseus’s ship, it is difficult to describe at what point a type emerges; although it is obvious once it has. Equally, it is unclear when a type starts to erode but its absence is self-evident. This problem of a type’s fuzzy boundaries is where the studio is situated. How does one ask the right set of questions to gauge the extents of a typology? How does one know how to use a type without excessive standardization or uncontrolled vagueness?
In the studio’s first phase, students analyze models and drawings to identify the typology within a precedent and investigate where it starts to break down. This process sharpens critical thinking and expands their architectural vocabulary. In the second phase, they will then design a 500 sqm building, tuning architectural elements to push the boundaries of the typology, creating an atypical architecture.
