The Chimney

This studio reconsidered the role of climate in architecture by investigating the protective function of buildings, using a heightened material sensitivity as its starting point. It explored how designing with natural forces—sun, wind, rain, heat, and cold—can create meaningful architectural experiences. The studio tested this premise through a hands-on approach, situating the project in the everyday context of a real building.

The project brief involved transforming an ordinary school building from the 1930s, currently standing empty, with a small but strategic intervention. Beginning with a careful assessment of the building's urban context, students experimented with the impact of climate on the building’s form and materialization. In a collaborative effort, they created models at 1:36 and 1:12 scales. This didactic strategy allowed them to engage directly with the resistance and agency of materials, working through the design and execution process to meaningfully integrate the old with the new.

Maddy, Nhu, and Jenny recognized the untapped potential of the heating system and duct shaft—elements typically concealed—as architectural features capable of shaping their intervention. By reimagining the shaft with a unique function and expression on each floor, they transformed the heating and cooling systems into active spatial elements. Constructed from porous brick, these features not only defined distinct architectural experiences but also served as a central organizing element, giving the building a warm, inviting heart.