20K
When discussing the topic of scarcity and austerity, it
reminds me that I have never had to worry about budget in a project. Money has
never been one of the critical challenges in studio. In my undergraduate
studio, there was a class doing a 20K house, and I remember thinking that it
sounded so boring. Like, we are in school let’s design something really cool
and expensive and who cares? However, looking back on it, the 20K house really
tests your knowledge and creativity with materials. It almost forces you to be
more creative when you use less or have fewer resources available. That’s a
beautiful thing when people can take very little and make something special.
20K Houses
I really relate to your post. During my undergrad I also had a studio focused on social housing and very constrained parameters. The lot was very small and the materials were limited. At first i thought it was pretty challenging but it turned out to be so much fun and I ended up learning so much about my country. It also opened my eyes to some of the Architects that got these jobs and were doing a poor job. I swore to never become one of them and do it right! I think that Architecture schools should have at least one studio focused on it because it is very enriching!
ReplyDeleteI love this post. Sometimes there is such a disconnect between studio and real practice because of this. However, not having a budget allows us to be able to design and learn how to design without constraint. I do think that constraints can ultimately increase creativity, because you have to work within very specific and defined boundaries.
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