Crembil Vertical Studio- Spring 2007
Faculty - Gustavo Crembil

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK: Three preoccupations: form-making, building practices, and development by THEM (Lynch + Crembil)

The invention of new forms is an essential social task. New forms are a physical representation of new possibilities: they liberate thought. New forms put institutional and cultural habits and preconceptions into play: they allow a society to re-imagine itself. An expanded universe of forms is the central preoccupation of contemporary American architecture practice, and our work is also committed to this project. A new construction method/element/practice, even one that directly affects a small percentage of the total work, can have a catalytic effect on the entire process of construction. In post-industrial societies, new methods and practices can change our perception of the established building delivery system, with its codified rules and roles, by reminding us that things could be otherwise. In countries undergoing industrialization, new methods and materials of construction can play the role of social technologies. We have explored this potential in a number of small-scale development projects. Simple, adaptable building components, produced in community-based industries from recycled or readily available materials, create economic opportunities for people at the margins of the industrial economy. To engage construction is to engage society; but architecture must go deeper than an exploration of construction. Buildings are epiphenomena. To actually influence society for the better, architecture must understand and address the process of development meaning both economic and real-estate development. Over the past fifteen years we have sought to educate ourselves and provoke others by proposing new ideas for the design and development of settlements, regions, and city districts; by proposing new tools for building and land use regulation; and by encouraging new cultural and productive relationships between agricultural and urban landscapes. The next step for this work is implementation. Project: Architecture otra, sustainable communities in post-development contexts. This studio will concentrate in the design, development and prototyping of building systems based on recycled paper and cardboard to be used in the building of living units and/or other functional structures. Site & community: A cartoneros (informal paper scavengers) collective in Cordoba, Argentina. Largely unemployed or working in informal jobs --men mostly work in construction and women as housemaids, these collectives live in the outskirts of the city in villas miserias (slums) and survive or compliment their income by scavenging paper and cardboard. Students investigated and proposed building programs and developed urban strategies for land appropriation and ownership, as well as considered the existing socio-political context and supporting media tactics involved.

Students: Victor Barbalato, Sara Patterson, Michael Prince, and Niraj Prakashkum (Indian Exchange Student)

Students: Jenny Joe, Elvi Jorgaqi and Charlotte Root