In this studio, based on the chosen topic, you are required to develop your own architectural and technical agenda, including spatial, material, and structural aspects of a complete building.

When you take all aspects of the building material into consideration – the geology, the mining, the site, the production, the different properties, the craftsmanship, the specialised techniques and the cultural significance – you can deploy the full potential of the inherent qualities of the material itself and your way of working it, in what is called material gesture. Your project should emphasize the way of constructing a building on a specific site through the material development and the inclusive thinking of the ways it can be made.

The studio strongly believes in an interdisciplinary approach to relate research and specialists from other departments (such as geology, robotics and others) with the field of architecture. With the focus on materiality, we aim for innovation in the field of architecture and building construction – reflecting on new ways of making that link with one or another production aspects, such as application techniques, formwork and casting methods, material performance, composites, re-use, structural techniques, sustainability and weathering.

Throughout the whole period, and for your final presentation, you are required to work with physical (fragment) models of your building. The model should show the material and the gesture (the way of making) and the specific spatial conditions it proposes. This is the key element of your presentation, along with samples of the material research, drawings and photography. You are required to display the material gesture research, drawings of the project, and photos of the model alongside your model on portrait A1 sheets. The A1 material will be collected digitally in PDF format for the studio archive, as well as your final printed hand-in for the public exhibition. A selection of projects will be shown on the studio website.

Students will receive structured weekly feedback on the topics addressed in each project and research in relation to the chosen topic.

Cecilia Marzullo is the main Master Thesis assistant.
For applications and any general questions please contact her directly at marzullo@arch.ethz.ch.