Sustainable Hoogcruts

M1 Project

Kurs_M1_Arch_AT_Sustainable Hoogcruts (4 SWS / 15 CP), 16 Students

Language:     German/English

Time:                Tuesday, 11. April 2023, 10:00 (first meeting),

                       weekly appoinment: tuesday, 10:00 – 14:00.

                        Excursion week: Workshop for Experimental Building at Kloster Hoogcruts.

Room:      Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Architekturtheorie, Templergraben 49, 2. OG.

Lecturers:      Prof. Axel Sowa, Dr. Ing. Andrea Alberto Dutto

In the coming years, the challenges of climate change will require the collaboration of experts, including architects with expertise in natural materials, recycling technologies, and a vocation for situated experimentation. The aim of this M1 course is to address crucial themes in this domain of theoretical and practical expertise.  This goal will be undertaken in three ways 1) observation and documentation of practices; 2) bibliographic research; 3) hands-on experimentation.
As an area of investigation, we will assume the Maas-Rhein Euregio, whose epicentre is the former Hoogcruts Abbey, which already hosted a series of hands-on experiments with rammed-earth and bamboo which we conducted in collaboration with local actors and other schools of architecture. We will come into contact with some regional practices to understand and document their way of working and their perspectives on innovation in sustainable building. This investigation will be accompanied by reading seminars, focusing on recent publications in the fields of theory, experimental architecture, materiality, and energy concerns. Finally, we will apply the acquired knowledge in practical experimentation to produce innovative mock-ups and components.