Scrappy Architecture

Architecture G3 Studio / Spring 2022 / Curtis Roth

Scrappy Architecture

Scrappy Architecture
Zack Zaworski

Scrappy architecture aims to produce a new architectural aesthetic through an investigation of material roughness. This is a critique of the pristine, smooth architecture that has become a staple of innovation and future progress. It also interrogates notions of standardization and institutional architecture through field conditions.

Field conditions, as described by Stan Allen in “From Object to Field,” are loosely bounded aggregates characterized by porosity and local interconnectivity. They are conceived as a spatial matrix unifying disparate parts. A process-driven architecture conceptualized from notions of material weathering will inspire new ways of thinking regarding educational institutions. 

A scrappy model of education goes against the rigid, formal, and pristine organization of the school. There are no formal corridors or hierarchy of spaces. Tectonic and stereotomic spaces are constructed out of additive and subtractive processes, mimicking material weathering. This space-making formula conceptualizes an informal organization of spontaneous spaces reminiscent of the walking city typology. Learning in a scrappy environment may encourage the next generation to be more perceptive to materials and their effects.  

Faculty

profile of curtis

Curtis Roth

Associate Professor