Block Chain

The studio will focus on generating porosity within urban blocks using algorithmic design processes of subdivision and aggregation.

A city block is, unsurprisingly, the fundamental building block of the Hoddle Grid, and greater Melbourne. However, most architectural developments happen at the scale of a single land parcel producing repetition of typological tropes rather than conceiving the best for the overall block.

We will negotiate complexity of uncertain future contexts and the balance between individual and group desires, capitalising on the potentials between land parcels for sharing of activities and infrastructure.

We will then expand these building blocks using algorithms to create diverse urban forms.

Students will learn digital algorithmic processes using Grasshopper, Python and CityEngine, and expand drawing techniques. We will also use QGIS to produce mappings of contextual forces from environmental and economic datasets.

Students will also be introduced to a legacy of international architectural and urban strategies stemming from Metabolism and Team X that deal with growth and change. The studio allows for integration of parallel core learning regarding structures and urban theories.