Studio Team: Jude Abu Al Soud, Ryan Dewey, Anna Jia Robert, Meera Kumar, Hanna Merrithew, Esmeralda Orozco, Taylor Rhodes, Jack Rosenberg, Kallista Sayer, Nicole Tooley, Kenneth Washington
Objective: This studio emphasized that close reading and critical analysis of past architectural works are essential for future innovation. By studying architectural exemplars relationally, students understood the ongoing historical conversations between architects that shape our built environment. These conversations, seen as a chain of exchanges—extensions, revisions, or rejections—were embodied in the architecture and the intellectual positions of their authors. The studio aimed to make students effective and inventive participants in this dialogue.The semester focused on the study of space and form, using existing buildings as guides. Students began by re-drawing a given house to understand the architect's toolset (Project 1). They then designed an “addition” within the house, engaging with its lessons and limitations (Project 2). This was followed by broader analyses of abstraction and conceptual curation (Project 3). Finally, students redesigned the house on a new site, fully conversing with and transforming the original (Project 4).