The Building Technology Studio is based on the design activity in which the student acquires the ability to control and coordinate building technologies, structural elements and building physics behavior. The workshop comprehends three interconnected sections: Architectural Technology, Structural Design and Building Physics.

The Technology section will mainly relate with construction techniques, materials, spaces, performances and values that represent an actual resource which must be carefully evaluated in the design process.

The Structural Design section will focus on the criteria leading to the selection of the best structural solutions (materials, stuctural scheme, construction techniques) with respect to the different design requirements.

The Building Physics section will deal with the conditions and performance requirements in buildings and the energy-efficient technologies and design strategies that are essential for designing sustainable, comfortable and architectural sensitive buildings.

The theme of the project on which students will develop their activities will be related to the social-housing. The application context will be located within the city of Milan.

MAIN EDUCATIONAL TARGETS

The work into the laboratory aims students to synthetize informations acquired along the semester and during the previous courses anf laboratories. The project is where this crucial synthesis will take place. Students will be introduced to verify and apply into their project former acquired abilities (techology, history, architectural composition, analysis of phisical and social context, study of program requirements,..) and new pieces of information acquired in the course (architectural technology, structural design and building physics). The target will be gained through a progressive effort in approaching the final result.

The target of teaching is to achieve for every student a personal capabiliy to approach technologies and techniques as a tool that should be used into architectural project, considered as a unique ensemble. The laboratory work will be formed by the following steps:

1) context survey and analysis;

2) Functional program requirements analysis;

3) Project Preliminary approach;

4) Main ideas formulation;

5) Project development;

6) Project presentation. 

Students will be assessed in the final examination through the valuation of the activities performed in the project workshop, in terms of project documents and abilities of the individual student to present it. The final exam will also assess, trough theoretical questions on topics covered in the programme, the student's ability to connect the various topics with one another and with previous studies.