The objective of the course is the practice of architectural design with a focus on managing the transition between public and private space. Upon completion of the course, students:

Will have deepened their understanding of methods for redesigning and integrating a micro-hygiene structure within the existing urban fabric.

Will have acquired an enhanced comprehension of the interdependence between the personal rituals of everyday life, social inclusion, and the boundaries of materiality.

Will have practiced approaching architecture as a mechanism for negotiating the diverse relationships that constitute the binary of the visible and the invisible in public space.

 The course concerns spaces where the encounter of diverse conditions takes place in a drastic manner (e.g., public and private, visible and invisible, transparent and opaque, movement and interiority). The design research of the course focuses on reconstituting the terms of this contact.

The subject of the course is the design of a public restroom complex, serving as a field of investigation for the concept of the boundary within urban space. The approach draws stimuli  redefining the hygiene infrastructure as an urban condenser and a token of respect towards the community. The site of the proposal is located at pivotal, dense, or transitional points of the urban fabric, where the concepts of privacy and safety are renegotiated. The design investigation will evolve using the physical model as a central tool. Through a series of models, the architectural form, structural system, and material essence of the project will be determined, which must, among other things, ensure the balance between the visual protection of the user and the spatial integration of the structure within its environment. Proposals will be presented using physical models and drawings at scales of 1:20 and 1:50.

Final studio grade will be based on an evaluation of the quality, originality and refinement of the final proposal, the successful completion of the initial assignment and the attendance and full participation in studio classes, and activities.