This studio challenges students to propose a constructed Midwest National Park in the city of Des Moines, and subsequently propose and Environmental Studies Library in that park.
This studio examines site and architecture as both abstract and concrete object that exists as cognitive constructs and as tangible experiences. It used a series of exercises in digital and analog recording to document and explore the site at various scales and immersive qualities and asks students to similarly use digital and analog tools to propose interventions into, through and around the site. Throughout, students both build skills in these two vital realms and learn to question how these tools inform approaches to and understandings of constructed objects in general. Students are introduced to 3D scanners, 3D printing, and projection mapping, exploring possibilities of surveying, communication, and designing ‘site’.
Working individually, students are asked to investigate the possibilities of a Midwest national park in the heart of an urban environment. What is the relationship of the built environment and the ‘natural’ environment? What is ‘nature’?
