Fernhill Urban CottagesSuper 8@ mentanaeco-cite

Urban Infill, atelier BOW-WOW, Tokyo

Borneo-Sporenburg, Amsterdam

Eco-Wall, ICF, Fernhill Project

Vertical Vegetal Wall, Fernhill Project

atelier BUILD > lean infill > montreal

Statement of Research Objectives Michael Carroll

Design/BuildAs part of a design/build philosophy, I am a founding partner of atelier BUILD that since 1995 has designed and built a series of urban infill projects that include among others: Thin House, Box House, and Super 8. As a form of architectural research, the projects are an opportunity to investigate innovative and sustainable design solutions for marginal and interstitial lots that reduce urban sprawl through high-density urban development. Because the projects are developed without a client and built on speculation there is a constant negotiation between generic, cost-effective construction practices and design innovation that incorporates ‘off-the-shelf’ domestic and industrial grade products. The work of atelier BUILD will be the subject of a monograph published by TUNS Press of Dalhousie University in Winter 2009.

SustainablilityIn recent years, issues of sustainability have become central in projects such as Eco-Cité Habitat I, one of the first ‘eco-condominium’ projects in Canada, it incorporates geo-thermal heating/cooling, heat mirror films, green roofs and ‘low toxic’ material specifications. More recent projects include a zero-carbon house for a reality TV show for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The project’s objective is to develop a house that produces as much (or more) energy than it consumes through the use of passive solar design, geo-thermal heating/cooling, wind generators and photovoltaic cells. Another project in process is the design and production of a vertical vegetal wall that incorporates stainless steel netting, fiber optic lighting and an irrigation system to create a ‘living’ screen in the middle of an passively-ventilated central atrium.

Urban InfillThe Canadian Prix de Rome enabled me to travel to Japan and the Netherlands and expand my research on innovative, high density, urban infill projects. I interviewed such critically acclaimed architects as atelier BOW WOW and Klein Dytham Architects in Tokyo and Kiyoshi Sey Takeyama in Kyoto/Osaka. In the Netherlands, research focused on recent developments in the industrial docklands of Amsterdam and Rotterdam designed by groups such as West 8, MVRDV and Heren 5 Architects. As a product of my Prix de Rome research, this past summer with the help of a Syracuse Architecture Faculty Research Grant, I made two fifteen-minute videos entitled: In-Between: the Architecture of Ma and Double Dutch: Urban Housing in the Netherlands. As a continutation of my research on Japan architecture and culture, I hope to bring a group of students to Japan in May 2009 as part of Syracuse University’s Studies Abroad program.

Materiality As part of my ongoing material research, an insulated concrete formwork system is currently being used in two houses under construction in Montreal. This system dramatically reduces erection time and eliminates the need for an interior vapor barrier and an exterior waterproof membrane. The result is a robust insulated concrete shell that provides superior insulation. Research also includes consultation with Material Connexion in New York and a proposal for the formation of a materials library at Syracuse Architecture. I also presented a paper entitled: Thinking + Making Architecture: New Paradigms in Contemporary Practice at the ACSA Fall 2008 Conference at USC in Los Angeles that focused on the intersection between digital fabrication, design and materiality.

Thin House Tower House Back House Box House

Urban Infill Studio, Syracuse, NY

Thinking+Making, 3-D Printer

Tectonics Studio, Rammed Earth Wall

atelier BUILD > design/build > montreal

Statement of Teaching Interests and Objectives Michael Carroll

“Architecture is ‘hyper-physical” Jacques Herzog, Lecture, 2002.

Thinking+Making ConnectionMy pedagogical approach, in general, is centered on the belief that thinking and making are integrated activities. It is only through drawing, making and building (at various scales) that architectural ideas take effect and qualities are explored.

Within the design studio, students are encouraged to find connections between design concepts and their architectural (formal, spatial and material) expression founded through drawing and modeling (both physical and virtual). Emphasis is placed on the qualitative aspects of a work of architecture, its physical character and its relation to it immediate and extended context – that includes a critical and holistic grasp of ecological, cultural and urban sustainability.

Holistic TechnologyGiven the current pre-occupation with issues of sustainability and the call for architecture to be more responsive to the environment, the integration of building technologies is a primary pedagogical objective in my teaching. At Syracuse University, I teach a mandatory third-year undergraduate technology course that focuses on the integration of passive and active systems for buildings. Emphasis is placed on a critical approach to technology so it can be effective in the improving the well-being of the building’s occupants without increasing the building’s ‘environmental footprint’. The course includes case studies of recent buildings that integrate a range of passive and active technologies, as well as, a survey of smart materials and developments in nano-technology. These pre-occupations also form the basis of discussion within the third-year undergraduate comprehensive design studio in which students are asked to resolve a design project to a high level of detail. This studio is particularly important in fulfilling the accreditation requirements for the School of Architecture at Syracuse University.

Material Phenomenology Beyond technology, my teaching interests are also informed by a philosophy centered around phenomenology, particularly the writings of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Gianni Vattimo and my graduate school professor, Alberto Perez-Gomez. The design of a physical and a ritualistic environment that embraces the senses beyond the visual is of prime importance. Within this mindset, architectural ideas are not just abstract principles but are embodied within a concrete reality - materiality, with its inherent tactile and haptic qualities, becomes an essential component of architecture.

In recent years, issues of materiality and fabrication have become central to architectural discourse. While respecting traditional materials and craft, it is also the onus of architectural schools to look forward and embrace an increasingly diverse array of materials and digital fabrication strategies. From CNC routers to robotic arms, the digital has increasingly infused our material realities. I encourage my students to investigate this new territory with the objective of diminishing the thinking and making divide.