Studio 2A

Instructor: Teddy Slowik

Fall 2019 | WSOA

Housing units

Partially Similar will investigate symmetry in architecture through a study of the part to whole relationships present in centrally planned architecture. Students will begin with the study of precedents developing and expanding their understanding of symmetry and polygonal geometry. While the whole building will remain a key figure throughout the semester special attention will be paid the part, as an attempt to situate contemporary discussions of computational variation within the historical context of the centrally planned building. In response to the Woodbury University School of Architetctur’s year of Housing, we will use partial similarity to interrogate the modern notion of the unit in housing.

this semester we moved to the edge of centrality—exploring centrally planned buildings inscribed inside of figures of 4 sides. The external forms of the works are simple rectilinear figures that transition to curved geometries as the form of the building moves up and to the center. This process of formal inversion created a sometimes radical discrepancy in section as the form shifted from the rectilinear to the curvilinear. It also created a set of complex structural problems that resulted in unique formal solutions to connect the curves back to their rectilinear bases