Architecture 2021
ARCH 001: The Emergence of the Concept of Environment in British Architecture, 1830-1890
Professor Martin Bressanimartin.bressani [at] mcgill.ca |
Research AreaEnvironmental History |
DescriptionI investigate the rise of a sensibility to ambiance and atmosphere in British architecture in the 19th century, in order to further our understanding of the concept of environment in its historical complexity. I seek to expand current histories of the concept of environment by addressing the too often neglected role of architecture. Inspired by the increasing attention to emotion and affect in literary and social studies and drawing from a specific strand in recent ecocriticism—specifically the “ecocritical” re-evaluation of British literary romanticism in terms of an environmental tradition—our research program focuses on the ways in which architectural experience shapes and reflects the beholder’s interaction with the world: how it develops an ecology between mind and environment. This research program has been SSHRC funded. Tasks per studentThe student will perform historical research, perusing the complete run of the main British architectural journal of the nineteenth century, The Builder, mapping out the stages of architects' interest in the notion of ambiance throughout the century. It will be conducted through i) online word search, as The Builder is available on a web platform, and 2) through iconographical research. .
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Deliverables per studentCompile a series of extracts from the journal, contextualizing certain uses of keywords and their changing meaning. Synthesizing in writing the changing perception of the environment in the eyes of 19th-century British architects. |
Number of positions1 Academic LevelYear 2 |
ARCH 002: Innovations in multi-species timber construction: thermal cycling and carbon cycling
Professor Salmaan Craigsalmaan.craig [at] mcgill.ca |
Research AreaForestry-building carbon sinks / Mass timber construction / Heat-recovery with natural ventilation |
DescriptionJoin a multidisciplinary research team, innovating with mass timber to exchange fresh air and low-grade heat, simplify building systems, and store carbon from managed forests for centuries ahead. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-gSJhige2Y https://www.mcgill.ca/architecture/salmaan-craig Prequisites: ARCH 377 (Fall 2020) and ARCH 540 (Winter 2021) Tasks per studentAs part of an interdisciplinary team, each SURE researcher will work one of the following tasks: 1. Develop the next version of this flow experiment (https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/SWHLYQ). The aim is to measure the heat-recovery efficiency of this natural ventilation scheme compared to the "gold-standard" of spontaneous mixing ventilation (https://doi.org/10.5683/SP2/G5ALEH) 2. Prepare maps and inventories outlining future scenarios for timber-availability and carbon-cycling in the Morgan Arboretum 3. Prepare samples of multiple wood species from the Morgan Arboretum and measure their thermal properties
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Deliverables per studentEach SURE researcher will be responsible for preparing and publishing one of the following datasets on the CRG Dataverse (https://dataverse.scholarsportal.info/dataverse/CRG) 1. Pilot data for the flow experiment 2. Maps and inventories outlining future scenarios for timber-availability and carbon-cycling in the Morgan Arboretum 3. Thermal property data of Arboretum timber |
Number of positions3 Academic LevelYear 3 |
ARCH 003: Erickson at the Movies
Professor David Theodoredavid.theodore [at] mcgill.ca |
Research AreaArchitecture and Cinema |
DescriptionThis project examines the oeuvre of celebrated Canadian architect and McGill graduate Arthur Erickson (1924-2009) through the ways his buildings appear onscreen in movies, films, television shows, commercials, and music videos. The project builds on the methods and sources used to make Impostor Cities, a competition-winning exhibition about cinema and architecture set to open at the Venice Biennale in 2021 (see website). How do Erickson's buildings stand in or double for others? How do we understand architecture through moving images as opposed to through photographs, textual accounts, or first-hand experience? Tasks per studentStudents will learn how to search for architecture in cinema. In particular, they will be taught how to access digital databases, newspapers, and indexes ands to identify film clips and shooting locations and create a database. They will collect, categorize and organize sound and video clips, and use non-linear editing to make "superclips" that allow comparisons across themes such as cinematic tropes, locations, and building types.
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Deliverables per studentThe students will collaborate on a searchable database of film information and edit surperclips of how Erickson's architecture appears onscreen in film, television shows, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. |
Number of positions2 Academic LevelNo preference |
ARCH 004: Architecture Playshop: Developing Critical Literacy with Young Children on Climate Change, Forced Migration and the Built Environment
Professor Ipek Tureliipek.tureli [at] mcgill.ca |
Research AreaArchitecture |
DescriptionChildren are disproportionally affected by climate change and displacement. The leadership of children in recent climate activism is a demonstration of their ability to process and act. Our project seeks to learn from children while building awareness and establishing seeds of action children can implement as adults. While there is consensus that education for environmental justice must begin in early childhood, architecture's relevance and capacity is almost never included in curricula. Entitled "Architecture Playshop," our project will show (3 to 9-year-old) young children that the built environment is an indirect cause of climate change; yet, architects can develop visions to mitigate effects of climate change on populations. This project will also demonstrate to educators how these topics can be introduced to young children in age-appropriate ways. It is vital to expose children to the complex entanglements of climate change, forced migration and architecture. Tasks per studentDeveloping visuals and dissemination of research
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Deliverables per studentDesigning a website which will be the public face of the project; producing short stop-motion animations based on illustrations produced by a children's book artist who is part of the project, and other supplementary graphic design and research as needed. |
Number of positions2 Academic LevelNo preference |
ARCH 005: Campus Landscapes
Professor Ipek Tureliipek.tureli [at] mcgill.ca |
Research AreaArchitecture |
DescriptionThe SURE project will comparatively study the campus landscapes of select historic colleges from around the world. By “campus landscape,” the project refers to the individual buildings that make up a campus and the spaces in between them, and the inside and outside of the campus. The project will trace architectural changes in the campus in relationship to pedagogic objectives and racial and class hierarchies. A geographic approach to buildings will reveal much about design decisions and user experiences that are unarticulated in textual or architectural documentation. The SURE students working on the project will use maps and geographic information and other contextual information to show how and why some colleges differ from others in the way they are laid out and their major landmarks are oriented. The work will contribute to our understand the different ways campus design evolved as various models mutated across the globe over the last two centuries. Tasks per student1) Archival work to identify maps and other architectural drawings 2) Redrawing of found designs 3) Production of comparative to-scale diagrams
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Deliverables per studentArchitectural drawings including plans, elevations and axonometric drawings and comparison diagrams |
Number of positions2 Academic LevelYear 3 |