Review of the new Coop School in LA

Here is a link to the article / review of the new school in LA.
Architect's Newspaper

Link to a new book by Dennis Dollens

Here is a link to a PDF for Dennis Dollens' book:



eTrees, DIgital Nature & BioArchitecture

Visit to the Botanical Garden

The studio visitied the U of M Bottanical Garden and got a tour from David Michener.  David gave us an amazing run down of various plants and how their form responds to sunlight.  There are obvious examples but others that included heliophobic species and various adaptations of leaves as light harvesting mechanisms.

Studio Brief

In his 1929 book, “The Metropolis of Tomorrow” Hugh Feriss develops a series of ominous images that illustrate the formal implications of the 1916 zoning laws for New York City. The zoning laws were the first of their kind to limit the size of buildings based on a formula that biased public safety, health, and light over the maximization of leasable private space. Feriss’ drawings will be our starting point to design a direct connection between building and light. The studio will begin with a series of parametric digital exercises to study the geometric, spatial, and formal implications of sun seeking and sun fearing tendencies. The studio will offer a series of Digital Project workshops / tutorials to introduce the “tools of the trade”. The parametric solid / void investigations of urban massing studies will translate through to the final project for an urban K-8 school in Chicago. The urban site will challenge designers to create a day lit educational environment that addresses democratic concerns for universal design and pedagogic principles of small school design.