Cabinet of Curiosities / Curious Assemblies

^{MArch Comprehensive Building (Gateway) Studio Workshops / 2022 Carleton University}

As part of a the MArch Gateway building comprehensive studio, students completed a series of workshops over nine consecutive Wednesday afternoons. Each week, students developed five material tests working with wood assembly, steel forming, cnc routing, 3d clay printing, and concrete casting. Each material artefact was tested according to one performance criteria (concrete>heat retention; metal>water deflection; 3d clay print>air movement; cnc routed screen>light modulation; and wood panel>acoustic transmission) using a series of experimental testing chambers constructed for the class. This body of work collectively formed a physical and digital resource, a Cabinet of Curiosities.

In the second half of the semester, students prototyped a fragment (detail, intersection, or spatial condition) of their Gateway studio project, an urban forestry knowledge center in downtown Ottawa. After fabricating these fragments, they tested them in relation to at least one selected performative attribute (heat retention; water deflection; air movement; light modulation; and acoustic transmission) previously explored in the course. Prototypes varied in scale. Overall, the exercised introduced students to material systems, fabrication processes, and qualitative methods of performance analysis, reciprocally making energy material and making materials energetic.







Building as Compost by Harrison Lane

Building as Grotto by Mark Meneguzzi


Building as Glade by Evan Kettler

Buildng as Plume by Caitlin Chin