50:50 Sovereignty, Price, Density, Efficiency – Housing-led Economic Urban Expansion in Hong KongAbstract by Kam-Ming Mark TamHong Kong is an ideal laboratory in which to study relationships between economy and architecture. In this city, tremendous power is held by both the state and in private capital. Urban form may be read as a tangible spatial manifestation both calculated and inadvertent, of a historic model of economic development since its origins as a colonial outpost living in borrowed times....
The Average Best Solution : A Generative Design Tool for Multi-Objective Optimization of Free- Form Diagrid Structures Abstract by Farzin Misami Azad This research describes the generative modeling method implemented in an open-source program (Grasshopper) as a computational tool for performance evaluation and multi-objective optimization. It explores the initial steps of the design process to find the most fit design, based on goals defined by the designers, from among all possible solutions. In this context, this...
ABSTRACT by Caitlin Perry The Annapolis Valley Region is home to a rich and varied landscape. Agriculture, historic sites, the Bay of Fundy Shore, and the inland forests are just some of the aspects that together make up this unique region. Yet this exquisite region is under threat from the dual challenges of depopulation and unconsidered development leading to the loss of its essential historical and environmental character. These are quintessential rural problems and feed...
Brussels took me by surprise. Like any great city, what appears on the surface to the zealous tourist is only a cover for a vast depth of bizarre and unique character. I found myself there after accepting an internship at Taktyk Landscape Urbanism, a young office with a small team doing projects in Belgium and France. The European Union capital appeared at first to be like most other Euro-tourist destinations, but between the historical monuments and among the neon-lit restaurants all catering to foreigners...
ABSTRACT by Leanna Lalonde “…last came the prospector and the mining company, but when they came they made the region theirs, and what they found, made all other industries seem of no account. Even the sulphur that blasted all things living, only made nature’s grimness grimmer still, substituted, as it were, deadly purpose for beautiful desolation.” – Stephen Leacock, My Discovery of the West; cited in John M. Gunn, Restoration and Recovery of an...
ABSTRACT BY Claire LubellObject _ This thesis draws from the specific universality of Johannesburg to develop a theoretical framework that critically examines the opposing forces of its urbanization. In just 130 years the city of Johannesburg has in fact been many different cities. As the embodiment of rapidly shifting economic and cultural ideologies, each identity was expediently manifested, leaving little time for sedimentation. Built through accumulated juxtapositions, Johannesburg has continuously evaded categorization despite popular perception as a...
The Master Works Exhibition, supported by Design at Riverside, is an annual exhibition of the thesis work of masters students from the Waterloo School of Architecture. It presents the expanse and depth of each chosen student’s thesis exploration through all forms of representational media – drawings, diagrams, renders, models, photography. Graduates of the Masters Program from between 2011 and 2014 are eligible to submit their work. The deadline for application submission is August 7th, 2014. Applications are to be...
Are you involved in a creative project within the Waterloo School of Architecture, the Galt area, or broader design community? Share your ideas in the upcoming Pecha Kucha: Creative Projects this Saturday, July 26th! All projects are welcome, including, but not limited to, art projects, start-ups, community initiatives, master’s theses, Nuit Blanche installations, etc. Please send an email to chen.vikkie@gmail.com as soon as possible if you’re interested in presenting. Pecha Kucha 20×20 is a format that...
Engi-Tecture: Eccentricity is an art exhibition that exposes the creative pursuits of architects and engineers beyond their respective professions. Roksena Nikolova, the founder and curator of the event, aspires to bring people together to celebrate art from the point of view of architecture and engineering students, faculty members, and professionals. She says, “When we make things, we express our view of the world. The creative outcome may be painting, sculpture, illustration, printing, photography, music, dance, theatre, poetry,...
RePost (Regarding Exhibition Publication Opportunities) features ongoing work by Waterloo Architecture students, faculty, and alumni that has been exhibited, published, or presented in other venues. We welcome submissions at submit@waterlooarchitecture.com. This hanging garden project by UWSA students was published in an issue of the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects’ professional publication, Ground, which discussed the theme of the Micro. The project was described in an article entitled “Tactical Urbanism: Big Little Things” and was the first project...
