
Erasmus Intensive Program 2008 - Brick
This two weeks lasting workshop was the first Intensive Program of the TECTONICS Series (2008-2010). The rapid experimentation and play with the bricks was the main focus of the first week which provided the students another approach to brick as a construction material. For the second part of the workshop, we built upon the knowledge made with the bricks and expanded and refined these experiences by connecting them with the site, and by furthering the development of individual tectonics and texture.
To learn from working with bricks meant peeling off the skin of assumed knowledge about a well-known material. The process of reflecting while working allowed people to discover the properties of the material and find the proper building techniques in a process of repeated steps. Without using any tools or mortar, a specific artisanship had to be built up. Gravity and adhesion were the only guarantees that structure would hold. Thinking about a material in such a direct and physical way not only stimulated an immediate learning process but also motivated the stacking during this period of two weeks. At the very end of the workshop, all of the bricks were stacked back onto the palettes where they had previously been piled, concluding an intensive experience that blurred the line between building and architecture.
Partner Universities: Academie van Bouwkunst Amsterdam (Organiser), Royal Academy Copenhagen, Universitat Polytécnica de Catalunya, NTNU Trondheim, University College Dublin, University of Ljubliana