- Graduation Project - 

‘Modelling the Process’ is the result of the graduation studio ‘Masterly Apprenticeship’. This atelier focused on Swiss architecture and included an extensive research on the design methods of Peter Zumthor, together with a design for an architecture school. This school is an extension to the existing campus of the Academy of Architecture Mendrisio, Switzerland. By using the model making techniques of Peter Zumthor as a design method, and his design studio at the AAM as a reference, the following building was designed. Additionally, the choice to use models, as apposed to renderings, allowed me to acquire a new skill set that required countless hours to master but nevertheless a rewarding task. 

The design stands paramount at the entrance of the campus guiding the students coming from the train station towards the existing buildings on campus. This central route over the campus is placed between the new design and the Theatre of Architecture designed by Mario Botta. As a result of the height difference of the site, this distinctive walkway takes the shape of a staircase, going past the different floors of the building (fig. 48). The student walking up the staircase will experience the various levels of the design with their respective functions (workshop, classrooms, atelier and exhibition space). This connection has been made possible by placing the walkway directly alongside the façade, giving the visitor an impression of the interior. The column structure of the façade (fig. 49) creates a frame through which the diverse spaces can be seen. 

The students of Peter Zumthor at the AAM used models during the design process as a design tool. These models were placed throughout the courtyard and galleries of Turconi (previous building), forming a permanent exhibition. This particular set up of the design studio of Peter Zumthor forms a principal concept in the design. The concept of a permanent exhibition is integrated into the design by placing two central staircases in the building along which the models made by the students can be placed. These spaces can be used by the students to display their work, whilst it simultaneously creates a place where the critiques can be held. The two staircases connecting the four different levels run over the full length of the building, forming not only a vertical but also a horizontal connection (fig. 50). These staircases start and finish at opposite sides of the floor plan, and cross each other at ground floor. The permanent exhibition created by this sequence connects the multiple levels with each other, creating a space where the relation with models is omnipresent.