Intermediate Architecture Studio
Session: Fall 2020
Instructors: Marcel de Lange, Scott VanGenderen, Neal Evers, Susannah Drake, Marianne Holbert
Environmental Design | Future Schools
Assistant Clinical Professor Marcel De Lange’s section of this studio completed two projects in Fall 2020. This final project, showcased in the exhibit, was a nine-week team-based project tailored around adaptive re-use and prefabrication/modular design, two critical directions in sustainable and future design of buildings.
Students, in teams of 3 or 4, were asked to design the “Environmental Design School” of the future, using the existing ENVD building on the CU campus as a starting point. Each team researched the existing program and curriculum, as well as possible future changes in design education, analyzed the existing ENVD building and investigated precedents of “world-renowned” design school remodels and additions. Each team discussed what was relevant to keep from the existing ENVD building, where adding on was an option and how more programs could be distributed to the existing ENVD building, and how the existing building can be adapted for a futuristic design school around sustainability and environmental design education. This project's overall goal is to further the discussion around the future of the ENVD program, its building and future on campus.
Flatirons Golf Clubhouse | Avoiding Floods
The COVID era led to a banner year for the game of golf. Naturally socially distanced, golf enjoyed a resurgence in 2020. Much of this renaissance took place on municipally-owned golf courses across the country. Boulder is no exception, and the city-owned Flatirons Golf Course experienced one of the most popular years in its illustrious history (since 1938).
The flooding in 2013 ruined an existing clubhouse, and the course has limped along with jury-rigged facilities since then. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan calls for replacing the clubhouse with a new gathering place consonant with the course's physical quality and Boulder's position as a preeminent Colorado city.
Scott VanGenderen's section of this studio was tasked to design a new clubhouse for Flatirons. After evaluating the role that style plays in the design of clubhouses around the world, the students developed a program meeting the needs of the golf staff. The students also included an events space, an enhancement to the program beyond that, which the city is currently considering. Preliminary design oriented the different functional elements (pro shop, snack bar, parking, cart barn, etc.) on a site that is confined by South Boulder Creek's floodplain. Based on their investigation of the client's needs, the students evaluated what structural systems would be economical and functional. Their final designs integrated these factors into a coherent and plausible suite of buildings appropriate for the course's future.
Except for a site visit early in the semester to meet with city golf staff, the studio was conducted remotely over the Zoom platform. Students presented their work using AutoCAD, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch-Up and/or Revit.
Public Safety Building | Steel
Neal Evers' section of this studio studied designs for a Public Safety building on a university campus in Houston, Texas. The building was to contain a police station function as well as other program elements related to a community theme on public safety and engagement. Furthermore, students were asked to showcase the use of steel as an architectural material. The projects will be submitted to an international student design competition sponsored by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture and the American Institute of Steel Construction. The project duration was 14 weeks, spanning schematic design (SD) and the development of major architectural systems (DD).
Still Life | Representation to Abstraction
Susannah Drake’s section of this studio, Still Life, explored options for expanding the Clifford Still Museum campus on a site in Denver’s Golden Triangle across the street from the existing museum. Students investigated the work of Abstract Expressionist artist Clyfford Still and considered how a new facility might open up opportunities for expansion of museum programs and outreach. As the title of the studio suggests, the students studied what it means to transition from representation to abstraction–the exploration of urban theory, artistic expression and architectural tectonics in Denver’s civic center at a time of intense societal tumult added extra resonance to the work.
Library Pavilion | Alternative Materials
Marianne Holbert's section of this studio worked with the Northern Saguache County Library District and Gettliffe Architecture to design a library pavilion in Crestone, Colorado, using alternative construction methods, including adobe, rammed earth and strawbale. These satellite library pavilions are designed to support the Saguache library by expanding residents' access to book sharing, library resources and community activities. Like the nearby spiritual stupas, these structures are designed for reading, reflection, meditation and small communal gatherings. From children's puppet shows to meditation circles, each library pavilion will have a diverse identity, character and architecture like the town itself. Yet, in their own unique identities, the satellite branch libraries collectively belong to a new type of library that is decentralized and cooperative.
