1:1 Studio — Woven Interspaces

Antwerp, Belgium, 2023

Collaborators: Leen De Brabandere (University of Antwerp)

The 1:1 Studio in the Bachelor Programme in Architecture challenges students in a practical way to explore creatively, technically and culturally their role as designers in the midst of complex societal challenges. It is a compulsory course in the 3rd year of the Bachelor of Architecture programme, taken by around 80 students. In teams of four, students design furniture conceived and elaborated as small-scale architectural commissions. The focus on wood as a material allows them to learn the construction process well and quickly, and it allows them to master the material and use it productively when designing. Through targeted cooperation with cultural institutions such as the Museum aan de Stroom (MAS), the Plantin-Moretus Museum or the Snijders&Rockoxhuis in Antwerp, the furniture is given a specific place and function in the public space, with a clearly defined audience and requirements - in short, an architectural and constructive identity. The students thus bear responsibility to the owner of the building but also to the broader public, in whose environment they place their constructions and where they are used. Through the triptych of design - realisation - placement in space, students see not only the materialisation of their design ideas but also how the public responds to them.

Pedagogically, the course uses regular reflection-on-action, which is embedded in the cyclical work process. Within six weeks - with a total of 13 full working days - teams develop their design each week and create, test and realise it in parts or on a small scale. The 'failure' in this realisation process is at the heart of constructive design, namely understanding one's own limits, the limits of the chosen material and tool and the subsequent adjustment of the design. In the weekly reflection process, which takes place within the groups in online diaries, the mutual shaping becomes clear: making the object more precise is accompanied by a formation of the maker.

The teaching team guides the students in this independent process. This is done in the role of coaches who help with reflection and insight processes, with technical questions and who moderate decision-making. Each week, the phases of work are introduced with short demonstrations and exercises and complemented by input lectures from the teachers and guest lectures from experts in the field.

Students choose their own unique approach within their own chosen space of the cultural institution. Depending on the composition and cultural background of the group, this often results in very surprising interpretations of places and problems and the independent solution in the design. The results are experimental prototypes that dialogue with the identity of the given space and represent a deep, personal and socially integrated design process.