Architectural Material Technologies Commons
Radical material responsibility through novel, regenerative, resilient, indigenous, and traditional materials with contemporary tools and innovations.
The “Material Commons” conference aims to explore the concept of radical material responsibility in architecture and design. By focusing on novel, regenerative, resilient, indigenous, traditional, and vernacular materials this conference seeks to foster sustainable practices that respect our environment and cultural heritage while empowering practitioners.
The Commons as a moniker was chosen as a means of drawing from the concept of the Commons and that of the modern Digital Commons, defined as “information and knowledge resources that are collectively created and owned or shared between or among a community and that tend to be non-exclusive, that is, be (generally freely) available to third parties. Thus, they are oriented to favor use and reuse, rather than to exchange as a commodity.” (Fuster Morell, M. (2010, p. 5). Dissertation: Governance of online creation communities: Provision of infrastructure for the building of digital commons.) As such, this conference does not charge for admittance, believing resolutely in the need for the dissemination of regenerative and sustainable materials, practices, and design.
Join us for three days of keynotes, panel discussions, workshops, an exhibition, and networking opportunities as we examine how to create a more responsible approach to materiality in architecture. Connect with experts from academia and industry to explore innovative approaches to material responsibility that contribute to a regenerative and more equitable built environment.
Key Topics:
- Novel and regenerative materials in sustainable design
- Traditional and vernacular materials in contemporary architecture
- Resilient architectural practices embracing regenerative techniques
- Integrating contemporary tools and technologies with traditional materials and methods
Organized by R. Spencer Steenblik, Assistant Professor of Comprehensive Design at Indiana University Bloomington, in collaboration with the American Bamboo Society.
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Competition Results
It is our pleasure to announce that Grace, Yixuan Lin’s entry in the Empowered Living Design Competition; entitled “Guerilla Urbanism”, was selected as a runner up in the Accessory Dwelling Unit catagory of the competition. She describes her project this way:
“On account of the high rents in Utah, Annex Garages are generated above garages in a community, those Annex Garage will be rent to young couples who working or seeking jobs in the Urbanism. The area of the Annex Garage is 32 square meters（it is depended on the size of original garage, but the proportions are uniform, and the one of original garage is 24 square meters, 7 square meters of the excess 8 square meters are used as stairs.
Moreover, a double-sized garage can build two houses. Therefore, housekeepers can get additional rent income, and couples who work in the city do not have to pay expensive rent. The main materials of the building are CLT wood, Standing Seam, mineral wool and solar panels. What’s more, the roof heating device can melt the snow on the roof during the snowy winter in Salt Lake City to prevent the pressure on the roof caused by the accumulation of snow. In addition, there is a skylight (1.2m*1.2m) in the middle of the roof, which provides light to the room and a good view of the scenery. Furthermore, this room will not be disturbed by garage noise, thanks to noise-proof glass and 4 layers of CLT wood board (100mm).”
Guerilla Urbanism by Grace, Yixuan Lin You can also find her work HERE
Empowered Living Design Competition winners courtesy of the competition organizers. -
Final review
Final Review
We had a very successful studio with a lot of very interesting projects. We also had distinguished guest jury members from around the world. Those reviewers included the following:
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2021 Futurelab
The studio had the opportunity to participate in FutureLab, an exhibition highlighting the work of design colleges from around the world. The list of participating schools included University College London’s The Bartlett School of Architecture, Politecnico Milano, etc…
From the “Part to Whole - Global to Local” studio the students models produced for the Empowered Living Design Competition studio were selected to be highlighted in representing Michael Graves College in FutureLab. This was a real honor for the studio to showcase the efforts of its students. Our work was highlighted in many media outlets.
Media Coverage of the studio in FutureLab:
“Part to Whole - Global to Local” studio, 3D printed version of “Small House” for third-year architecture students, entry to the Empowered Living Design Competition, supervisors Ralph Spencer Steenblik and David Vardy. Image courtesy of Su Yuzhang -
Brief2
After completing the tiny house competition, the studio moves on toward the complex program portion of the studio.
We are allowing the students to select between four different sit locations
Keantown, Wenzhou, China This site is the ambition of the local government to attract overseas Chinese nationals to have a more international environment closer to home.
Wellington New Zealand Train Yards The United Nations has declared the housing shortage in New Zealand to be “a breach of human rights”. Our opportunity is to propose new housing as a secondary use above the industrial train yards.
Amsterdam, Netherlands Taken from a competition won by BIG, this site is actually on the water.
QingShui Village, China (near Suzhou) This site is also the product of recently held competition focused on revitilizing the region and creating an influx of new vibrant life.
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Global tiny house conference
“TINY HOUSE DESIGN: PART TO WHOLE - GLOBAL TO LOCAL — WENZHOU-KEAN UNIVERSITY” at the Global Tiny House Conference
The studio participated in th Global Tiny House Conference held September 30th - October 2nd 2021. You can watch the recording here:
The students worked hard to prepare their work for this conference. We encouraged all students to participate in the presentation. Unfortunately, we only had a few students willing to join us on a saturday morning. But I believe it was well worth it for those who did. Regardless we all had a good time being a part of a global dialog regarding housing constraints.
Abstract:
David Vardy (Director of the WKU Design Institute) and R. Spencer Steenblik (Asist. Dir. Public Architecture and Design Research Institute) have been leading an architecture studio focused on the complexities of aggregated collections of informal, or grass roots housing development. The studio has begun the process by looking at a “tiny house” competition sponsored by AIA Utah and commissioned by the Salt Lake City Mayor Mendenhall. The Students in the studio from all over China offer ideas and opportunities applicable from Salt Lake City, to Shanghai.
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Introduction
Welcome!
This course is ment to take a micro to macro approach to dealing with a global housing crisis.
