Urbanism of Walls

This studio studies the connection between material and the urban environment through the lens of walls, specifically in residential construction. This is recurring studio aligned with the Building 4.0 Project 28, with a specific focus in 2022 on studying and learning from buildings and construction practices from Japan.

The studio is based on a critique of the industry standard approach to internal walls which utilise either masonry (block/brick walls), or a multi-layer wall systems with a timber or light gauge steel frame with plasterboard cladding. These approaches incur significant waste during construction (estimated at 18%), quality issues with performance, and cannot be recycled or re-used at end of life.

This studio investigates a different approach to the design of walls which draws on the logic of pre-fabrication, design for disassembly and modularity with the aim to improve circularity and longevity. In parallel with the associated Studies Unit lead by Marika Neustupny, the studio looks to Edo Period, Modern and Post-War Japanese case studies of modular design in which building typologies are intrinsically connected to the dimensionality, connections and details of wall construction. Students work across scales to design new internal wall systems; map, critique and re-design the urban supply chain over the life-cycle of their system; and finally demonstrate its application through new residential designs.