Medellín Concert Hall - ARC1004: Home

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Advanced Design Studio | ARCH 4 | Mark Urrea & Richard Yeager

Course Description:

Roughly translated to "A Different Music", this studio asks students to design a new music performance center for one of the emerging cultural centers of Medellin, Colombia.

Students base their design explorations on a piece of music of their choosing. By analyzing the meaning of the piece, students will find the common ground between music and architecture. That logic will then be applied to a site adjacent to the Parque de las Luces, an important public space that ties together museums, government buildings, and a new public library with a unique design that illuminates the area with sculptural lighted spires. The site is a transition point between the new development of the area and the underdeveloped city, providing an opportunity to negotiate between the new and old city, the large and small scale, and the public vs. private dynamic.

Essential to the studio will be a deep understanding of the culture, environment, history, and future of the city. The design process will help students work through three dimensional issues through model making, sketching, and computer drawing/modeling. The studio will encourage exploration in physical models, and will focus on developing the project in section perspective. Special emphasis will be placed on site planning and massing in order to reinforce how important it is that the designs work at the personal, building, and urban scale.

Medellin is a city in a rapid state of growth and change, with architecture and design playing key roles in its bright future. We will be studying and participating in the city's development to build a strong sense of design process balanced with cultural understanding.

Mark Urrea
mark.urrea@gmail.com

Richard Yeager
richard.yeager@bc.edu