Lassa Architects

We continued our study of new forms of the contemporary city, focusing on areas in China undergoing unprecedented territorial transformation. We observed recurrent patterns of urbanisation, where new cities are still planned following functionalist strategies and infrastructure performs the partitioning of territory while exacerbating the private sphere. As a unit we identified two dominant forces shaping the urban environment: on the one hand the political power, primarily through the deployment of authoritarian infrastructural monuments, and on the other hand, excessive private development. Within these disputed territories we investigated the socio-political role of circulation and proposed new modalities for public life as our primary design motive for architecture. We started the year by approaching architectural form from performative and behavioural points of view and its ability to engage the individual and the collective

Through the development of tectonic models, we explored geometrical integration of multiple design objectives that seek to integrate structure, circulation and activity in one form, as a way to facilitate new modes of civic appropriation. Through programmatic coupling, we experimented with new organisational and growth strategies, assigning areas of permanence and adaptability while producing economically viable synergies and greater resilience to change. We concluded the year with the design of a mixed-use urban unit at the scale of a neighbourhood that integrated multiple activities of living, working, transport and leisure. We focused on defining the civic spine and the variety of socialisation levels contained within it, as well as its relationship to the city. Students developed their design theses through speculative proposals for the near future. Show more