Unit A

Unit A is a research-led BSc Architecture Design Studio at the University of East London, lead by Carsten Jungfer and Fernanda Palmieri. We work with live-project situations and connect design learning with research through knowledge exchange between students and external partner organisations. Unit A focuses on social-spatial conditions within contested urban contexts and understands architectural design both as a spatial and strategic response to specific socio-spatial contexts.

28/10/2013

Tue 29 Nov Tutorials

Tomorrow's tutorials will evolve around your idea for a response / intervention to your moment / material experiments. Pleaese remember to bring not only the latest drawings but older stuff too. (Remember that the clocks changed back.) Apologies for late posting.


10.00
Ruta, Marie, Arifah,  Akin

11.00
Irena, Ping,  Daniella,  Ivan,

12.00
Aslihan, Vasilia, Isabella, Shakirin,

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Azizul,  Ilianna, Marija, Daniela,

15.00
Andreas, Tiffany, Chido,  Puja,

16.00
Adriely, Vasileios, Anastasia, Sonia



23/10/2013

Fri 25th Pin-up / Tutorials / L2 PS briefing 15.00

We will do a pin-up with the axonometric drawings on Friday morning.
Please bring full size print-outs or originals (A1/A0) of your layered / multi-dimensional Axonometric drawings and pin them up on the grey wall from 9.30 onwards so we can start at 10.00 sharp. 

We will also introduce you to the next stage / brief for the Smithfield project then. Attendance essential.

pm tutorials
+
15.00 for L2 (only): Briefing on your PS case-study.

+
il Gattopardo screening from 17.00 onwards

21/10/2013

Tue 22 Oct Tutorials + Indesign session 16:00

Tuesday will continue as workshop / tutorial / casting session all day 10.00 - 18.00. So there is no need for allocated tutorial slots. We can do a sign-up on the day. Please remember to bring in your big axonometric drawing(s) of the urban moment, as well as initial portfolio sheets documenting the mould-making and casting experiments. The axonometrics should become finalised now, containing multiple layers of information. Also your 200 word conceptual texts would be good to see now. You can also e-mail those to Felix and me.

Indesign session at 16:00 (this is optional and will be a basic introduction to the set-up and use of indesign for use of portfolio-editing. (no need to attend this if you know all about it already - L3?)

Reflection on model-making. Reading reference No.3

We handed out this text last Friday. It is critical that you engage with the text and use it to reflect on your process - as part of your conceptual. We want you to take a personal position. It should also help you to expand the way you think about the material moment you made.

Now: How can your model be re-interpreted and conceptualised? What was the core message / main interest you wanted to explore / /experiment / communicate initially? How successful was it? Was there something else emerging as part of the making / thinking in negative space / constructing the mould? Could the 'model' be read in different scales? By model we mean the cast but also the mould. If so,  what qualities can you describe to those artefacts and what can be extracted from those? Spatial qualities? occupational aspects?, lighting, materiality, etc....

All these considerations should inform your next steps in terms of further casts you will be making,  using parts of your mould and parts of previous casts. Make sure that you document all those considerations and conceptual reflections visually in your portfolio (various techniques)

Inspirational reading: Marie Ange Brayer - Beyond the model
LINK to download

19/10/2013

Thin casting technique

Following your first casting experiments as "solids", we had a chat with fabricator Roey Hunt yesterday in terms of what techniques could be useful for your next steps by using your plaster casts (or parts) as mould for the next round of casting. This morning we recorded for you a thin layer casting technique.  Have a look how this works.

16/10/2013

Fri 18 Oct - Tutorials + Lecture 14.00

For Friday please continue to construct your mould and try do at least one plaster cast (that casting workshop may be closed is no excuse - work outside with two buckets as said. Refer also to my e-mail from yesterday.)

When you have done this draw your mould to scale (plan, section, elevation, etc) Remember also to document this process of mould-making and cast (also the things that went wrong).
Also carry on with you axonometric drawing (during times the workshops are closed...)

We will do tutorials on Friday similar to yesterday, between workshop and studio. We expect you to make stuff in the studio all day. (no pin-up this Friday)

Lecture again at 14.00. Topic: 'editorial'.
Lecture now added to dropbox. download here.





14/10/2013

Tue 15 Oct - Casting workshop






As mentioned last week, we will be based in the UEL wood-workshop and plaster-workshop on Tuesday - all day. We have invited back Roey Hunt, a fabricator and specialist in mould making. You will construct your mould on that day and make at least one cast in plaster. Please bring all you materials for mould-making (plywood for box/base) and your bespoke materials you want to cast against for making the "negative space". Link to the brief for this, again. We have organised the plaster.

Please pin-up to our grey studio wall before 10.00:
- photograph of your material zoomed-in area marked up.
- your 1:1 drawings of that material moment (plan section(s)

We will start at 10.00 sharp. Everybody to attend from the morning. We have booked the workshop for the morning, pm is open to the entire school. Maximum of 15 students in workshop. We will put up a list in morning. First come  - first served. We hope to work around numbers - not all work needs to be done in the workshop....


09/10/2013

Fri 11 Oct - Tutorials and Lecture at 14.00


Lecture at 14.00 on Drawing Change (please all attend) - location tbc

What we want to see Friday:
Near finished / completed Axo of your city-moment. Sectional quality overlaid and the spatial qualities fully represented. Various layers of 'exploded" information extruded, etc. Synthesising all your research into a single drawing. Indication of temporary / 'momental' qualities. (yes - you will have to put lots of hours into this now....)

Scaled survey (section/plans/ etc) of your selected "micro"- moment + photographs / taped-up / marked-up area.
Bring in your materials for mould-making in reference to Saturday's workshop visit and briefing. You will also need to get / scavenge / some plywood (min 12 mm think) for your basic mould. pick up bits from the wast container in parking lot / left-over from workshop.

Text to read in preparation for next tutorials: (in case you did not pick up the  hard copy of interview with Rachel Whiteread): download from our dropbox. folder 03_reading

Remember to always bring the last two weeks of drawings with you (at least)

Reminder: Supplementary unit fee
Please pay this and give us the payment form / receipt / authorisation for deduction of bursary. (please note that as a Unit we are only able to use our material budget once everybody has paid in full. As we need to buy materials very soon, please action this urgently.)

This lecture has been added to our Unit A dropbox folder: 02_lectures
LINK to download


10.00
Ivan, Marie, Arifah,  Akin,

11.00
Irena, Ping,  Daniella, Azizul, Puja

12.00
Aslihan, Vasilia, Isabella, Shakirin,

13.00 Lunch

14.00 Lecture - Drawing Change (all attend)

15.00
Anastasia,  Ilianna, Marija, Andreas

16.00
Ruta , Daniela, Adriely, Vasileios

17.00
Tiffany, Chido, Sonia

05/10/2013

Palermo field-trip dates

Please make arrangements to book your flights to Palermo, Italy:

The dates are:
Departure Sat 09 November
Coming back Sat 16 November


Us tutors (CJ / FXS) are taking the easyjet flight going out from London Gatwick Sat 09 November at 11:45 arriving 15:35 in Palermo.

Alternatively you can go with ryanair (slightly worse, but same type of budget airline) We suggest you avoid travelling with hold baggage, save costs, but also travel lightly. It's not good to take too many things....

Coming back on Sat 16 Nov (Palermo - London) you can pick either easyjet or ryanair. up to you.

Make sure you have passports and visa(if needed) in place. this is your responsibility. 

--------------

RE accommodation. Just to be clear:
We will all stay in the same place. It's a former monastery / now hostel / B&B: Collegio di Maria - Palermo. We will do tutorials / working together so no time to waste getting lost, etc... and €20 a head / per night is pretty good value.
http://www.conventisicilia.it/conventisiciliapalermoen.html#.UlA_BbxDAzB

We need exact numbers to confirm the reservation. 
If you have not signed up on the field-trip list circulated on Friday, send us a e-mail ASAP confirming your participation. By signing up you will be expected to pay for your accommodation (even should you later not be able to come).

Us tutors are coordinating the accommondation for all participants with the hostel. This is something you don't have to do. We hope all this is clear? - if not e-mail us.

Sat 5 Oct: Workshop Visit








We will visit a specialist workshop on Saturday to learn about mould-making and processes of casting. All that you will need for your next model-making project that runs up to week 9.
Roey Hunt and Steve will introduce you to various techniques on the day.
Just to say this is a total "one off" opportunity - not to be missed.

03/10/2013

Fri 4 Oct: Drawings Lecture






This lecture has been added to our Unit A dropbox folder: 02_lectures
LINK to download

02/10/2013

Digimap for Smithfield Study Area

Thanks for sourcing the digimap for our study area. It can be downloaded from our dropbox folder 04_site info / Smithfield Market. 

I raised this with some of you yesterday. It would be great to have a digital OS map of the Smithfield Study area. Can Level 3 students please coordinate this inbetween you and download one by Friday - and upload to dropbox to share? You learned how to do this last year....
I think a  stripped-down / simple version would be sufficient. (keeping file size down).
thanks.

some other admin things...

Please action the below things and give us on Friday.

1. your medical questionnaire from filled in and signed.

2. Supplementary unit fee. Please pay this and give us the payment form / receipt / authorisation for deduction of bursary. (please note that as a Unit we are only able to use our material budget once everybody has paid in full. As we need to buy materials very soon, please action this urgently.)
link to form download