Project II: Atelier Grafton

Each semester we choose a city or a specific context, and theme of exploration. The theme and context are intended as a collective framework where personal approaches and different ways of working can be possible. 
The atelier works in urban environments, looking at the city as part of a wider geographical and anthropological context. We value an architecture which generates public space, enhancing a sense of community, which spans from the scale of the city to the scale of the territory, working with climate, topography and the world below and above ground. 
We encourage students to develop inventive solutions where architecture provides for the well-being and dignity of each citizen and the planet. We see the studio as a space for learning, sharing, experimenting and dreaming collectively.

As architects we can imagine new worlds. Architecture is an optimistic profession, capable of communicating a positive narrative for the future.
The aim of the course is to deepen the discussion about architecture in its wider meaning, to learn from the past in order to critically understand the present and imagine a future.
We are interested in going beyond the visual, emphasising the role of architecture in the choreography of daily life.
We work at different scales, from the scale of the territory to the scale of the details, addressing diverse topics: geology, morphology, culture, space, atmosphere, materiality, construction techniques and economy, and society.
Our objective is to help the student with his or her academic journey, understanding the role and meaning of our profession as architects.

• Sustainable cities and communities
• Climate action

In presence

We encourage students to experiment with ways of working, to approach a project in an intuitive way and to develop a personal understanding.
We see the atelier as a laboratory for learning, a space to develop a personal research, within a collective frame, leading to the project’s discovery. We see a project as a path where the process is a fundamental stage for its evolution and development. 
The atelier encourages the use of models and big sections as working tools, and sketches as a way of thinking and imagining. 

Interim and final reviews with external guests