Abstract:
On the journey of Architectural education, we are taught subject by subject, skill by skill. It isn’t until we leave
university that this complete body of knowledge is demonstrated in totality in our first project and built upon,
until demonstrated at registration. This is largely due to the constraints of the university situation dictated
by its semesterised nature, limited resources, health and safety requirements and the way our professions
education gets split and adapted into the universities paper model to access learning. These constraints in the
university system are aided by the rapid development of CAD technology, to manifest itself as an education
largely theoretical in nature.
This thesis sets out to reintroduce the practical reality of architecture and its construction back into Architectural
education.
The thesis explores the intimacy between design and construction, examining how one affects the other to
achieve a final feasible project. It seeks to form my approach to practice and set an example for future students
and architects with their approach to architectural learning. This is achieved through the development of a
complex system which continuously seeks to achieve simplification of design and fabrication.
I worked in a group to design a collection of structures that create an outdoor classroom for Summerhill
Charitable Trust in Papamoa. The Final Climbing Tower provides the project vehicle for the thesis, which allows
me to examine the relationship between design and construction as a 1:1 case study. The construction of the
final structure allows for each area of the design to be fully investigated through to its realisation. This allowed
me to explore first-hand the effect of design decisions on the final structure and its fabrication.
The question focusing my research will be - How does the process of construction inform, contribute to,
and strengthen my design process and therefore its outcomes? This question is asked in the context of
being able to demonstrate rounded and complete knowledge within my architectural education to date.
Secondary questions will be - what can be learned from the designer-builder relationship? How can I
apply that new perspective towards the design and construction of bespoke architecture in the future?