For An Economical Architecture
Harvard Graduate School of Design
Course led by Yasmin Volbis
Cheapness is definitely an answer. Speed of construction, amount of labor... Does it mean that the building uses mass-produced cheap material? Or, does it mean that the construction involves less of the human labor? Does it mean that the cost of material transportation is low? Does it mean that the running cost of the building (maintenance, heating and cooling, etc.) is low? The exploration of “economical” architecture through a single case study not only reveals the variety of solutions to construct buildings efficiently but also layers of intertwined, and sometime contradicting, methods to design buildings in “economical” ways.
The 1” : 1’-0” model replicates the construction methods of 50 Modular Apartments by PPA Architectures, a CLT built structure in Toulouse, France. Simplicity and precision are showcased as economical means to achieve facade articulation while maintaining overall building unity. The model mimicks the building’s use of few materials: wood, glass, and aluminum.
A full building exploded axonometric + a construction methods axonometric wall section