In the Field
Where and how does the environment go public? This studio will focus on the science laboratory as a site in which the environment takes shape, and is shaped.
In the science laboratory environments emerge as core samples, specimens in glass cases, data on bar graphs, pixels in satellite photographs, and theories published in Science and popular news media. To provide the space for such findings to be made, air is cooled, dehumidified, filtered, and shaded to create the laboratory’s sequestered interior.
The lab has long been defined as hermetic space for contemplative experimentation, in which test samples are removed from their original context, placed into highly regulated space, and then studied to provide information on the behavior of their original site. While this function remains significant, it takes place as part of a broader network of global testing grounds, material and data repositories, and communication systems that operate at a number of sites and scales. In this model of research, experiments take place on-site, often with ‘real-world’ ramifications that can stimulate public debate about the tests in real time.
Students will design an atmospheric research lab that operates globally and locally, in New York City. Students are challenged to experiment with the mediation of environment and public, ultimately to take a stance on the nature of public engagement in the ongoing debate about environmental accountability. Projects will address the manifestation and regulation of atmospheric phenomena through the lab’s materials, technologies, and enclosures; and revisit the logic and organization of the lab as a program.
Teaching Assistant: Troy Therrien
Master of Architecture Program Core Studio 1
RESEARCH:
W. Brian Smith
Jevin Dornic
Christina Nguyen
Aries Liang
Estefania Pilatti
Jeeun Lee
Marlisa Wise
Susan Choe
Vince Miller