Greece is characterised by a long coastline in relation to the size of the country and by a mild climate that allows living near the sea all year round. This has created a wide range of habitable floating structures, ranging from boats and marine facilities to platforms and smaller structures in the immediate vicinity of the sea. The islands of Greece display a long tradition of shipbuilding and navigation, the art of boat building in traditional boatyards involves knowledge and skills that have been passed down from generation to generation. With contemporary computational design media and digital fabrication, the possibilities of design and construction are increased, providing the opportunity for greater morphological flexibility and constructional precision.

• Understand and draw geometrically complex forms
• Understand  geometric concepts and design a basic structural system that combines morphological innovation and static adequacy
• Be able to produce in an automated way the construction drawings for the construction of individual components, using digital technology
• Be able to organise the sequence of work from design to construction
• Solve construction details of unconventional architecture and apply them to prefabricated structures.

This design studio seeks to revisit traditional forms of water habitation and the associated knowledge about their geometry and materiality. Using digital media, students will study and design new forms of amphibious dwellings or vessels. In particular, it aims to create floating structures, fixed or mobile, governed by morphological and constructional innovation. More specifically, it focuses on floating structures, with a flexible programme to allow students to work on the design brief in all its stages from design to construction. Students become familiar with an algorithmic thinking process that integrates design, construction, and morphological criteria into a single design-build process using digital technologies (CAD-CAM).   The studio focuses on the potential of digital design and fabrication tools for the creation of floating architectures, which aim to expand the possibilities of design and fabrication in new experimental and innovative directions. The topics that will be addressed by the students are:  

• Design in combination with construction, since the two processes are interrelated and one feeds the other, creating a design-build continuum
• Investigation of design, manufacturing, assembly, interconnection, optimisation and assembly systems
• Familiarisation with algorithmic design and computational thinking tools in architecture
• Modern design methodologies, morphogenetic processes and representations
• Interdisciplinary approach and integration of knowledge and design strategies 

Good knowledge of 2D/3D computer-aided design, knowledge of the machinery of the prototyping lab is required. Knowledge of algorithmic design (grasshopper3d or code) is desirable. Knowledge contained in the course is used to a significant extent within the course: Computer Aided Design I & II. Therefore students who have taken any or all of these will have a comparative advantage and greater fluency in implementation.

Students will work in small groups. The evaluation will be based on exercises during the semester (research, digital experiments, models) and the final deliverable that will be a fully articulated and documented design proposal for a small-scale architectural construction with all the construction details (floor plans, views, sections , three-dimensional illustrations, animations, digital designs) and mock-ups of the construction and the individual components, nodes and links on a larger scale.

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15 Of The Best and Most Ambitious Floating Architecture Projects https://www.archdaily.com/884450/15-of-the-best-and-most-ambitious-floating-architecture-projects