Grieb: GSAKU: Digital Studio 2020.

01: Same + Different: A City w/in A City

Introduction
“I'm a concrete person, not a person who can only work with poetry and clouds, but I love the way
poetry and clouds can speak to the conceptual drive and materialization of [architecture].”
- Neil Denari
The Dragons Exist [The Poetry and Clouds, or The Different]:
Fairy tales are imaginative stories with rich visual and contextual elements that bring forth visceral
emotions. The earliest known fairy tale dates back 7000 years, in which a human makes a deal with a
demon to gain supernatural powers. Fairy tales describe alternate realities where the relationships
between humans and fantastical creatures are based in real problems and dilemmas. They provide
lessons in how to deal with the reality we live in, while at the same time, question the authenticity of
that reality. Architects create the reality we live in by working in fictional realities. As such, we shape
the physical characteristics of our own reality, designing the settings of education, politics,
economics, and culture. Unfortunately, architecture is often only about learning how to be a space
planner, and the result is a reality that is banal, typical, and boring. Modernist reason has prioritized
functional logic: every space should have its own use; every element has its own purpose. Fairy tales
are meant to guide us through reality by creating images of the fantastical. In the fairy tale world,
imagination and reality intermingle. Forms are fluid and interchangeable. The fairy tale will serve as
your creative guide. This means you will be expected to explore architecture beyond the reality of
what already exists, and to imagine an architecture that doesn't exist.
Existing Things [The Material of the Real, or The Same]:
Reality exists as a constraint. Architecture relies on constraint in a very scientific manner. If we
understand reality as that which already exists, typology (or building type) can sometimes serve as a
case study for how to materialize a certain program within certain constraints (building codes,
structure, public wants and needs). As a result, every program has a certain building type that is
repeated and refined through built experience. For this studio, we will define, examine, and explore
possibilities for large-scale mixed-use projects. One major expectation for the final projects will be
the strength of how the final design communicates with the existing typology of the large-scale
mixed-use, the tower + podium organization. The tower + podium is simply composed of a horizontal
feature, not necessarily a mass, and a vertical feature, usually designed as an iconic landmark. The
studio does not expect the final projects to follow this composition, but should be able to express
some form of transformation, alteration, or iteration. A major part of your final success will be based
on the development, questioning, and investigation of the tower + podium typology.
Studio Goal:
To interpret and examine the role of the large-scale mixed-use project as an urban project and to
determine alternatives or improvements to the currently accepted building typology of tower +
podium. I encourage the studio to use the project as an exploration of architecture that is “different”
within the framework of the “same,” meaning that although existing projects are typically banal
solutions to a rather typical set of programmatic requirements determined by profit, our studio has
the freedom to develop fictional proposals. It is important, therefore, to be aware of contemporary
movements in architecture and art, and to connect these ideas in a provocative manner.

A City in a Building, Not a Building in a City:

The large-scale mixed-used project is a city within a city, and
always described in this way. Our projects will examine this
condition, formally through typology, and propose a new
organization based on the real chaos of the city. Where the typical
project sees itself as a building in a city, trying to argue for
connecting to an urban fabric, our projects will be cities in
buildings, honest about what they are: islands of consumption.

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Site:
Latitude: 37.526466
Longitude: 126.993141
Site Area: approx. 65,000 m2 (6.5 Ha)
Hotel Capital to the North. Apartment developments to the South and East. Yongsan US military
base to the West.
Program:
FAR = 6.2 – 6.7
A composition of typical mixed-use developments:
A) Offices
1. 100,000 – 110,000 m2 Gross Leasable Space
B) Housing Units
1. Min. 620 Residences [Average 95 units/Ha]
2. Min. A & B & C Type Residences
C) Hotel
1. 300 Rooms
D) Retail [Shops & Restaurants, but not including cinema]
1. 57,000 m2 Gross Leasable Area
E) Cinema
1. 5 Screens
F) Open Public Space
1. 45,000 m2
G) Cultural [e.g., Museum, Performing Arts, Education, etc.]
1. 27,000 m2
H) Parking
1. 4500 Designated Parking Spots
Work:
All work produced is expected to be of the highest quality produced under the given circumstances.
For the first half of the semester, the studio will have weekly pin-ups in order to share information
and ideas, but also to have peer reviews, to check the progress of quality, and to ensure your
presentations and ideas are developed through drawings and models. Pin-ups involve presenting
panels of drawings and/or study models. Freehand sketches are unacceptable in these pin-ups
(though they are fine for personal use and individual desk crits, which oftentimes leads to crucial
moments of development. So while I discourage sketches for pin-up, I encourage sketches for desk
crits). Drawings must be architectural in nature (plans and sections must follow conventions) and
diagrams must be original. For physical models, physical explorations and experiments are necessary
in architecture. Progress and success will rely heavily on the quality of these pin-ups, both in terms of
the quality of the work and the progression and iteration of ideas.
Grading:
Final grades will rely heavily on the complete development of basic design ideas communicated
through drawings, diagrams, and physical models. Development is a crucial factor in judging the final
projects: are ideas tested through multiple iterations, or is there a minimal amount of work?; is the
project presented as a sound argument through proof of work, or is the argument weak? In other
words, quality and quantity are key factors in deciding the final grade.
The following student qualities typically determine the success or failure of a project:
– Attendance: Not attending studio time usually results in a lack of project development
through a lack of work.
– An open mind: A willingness to test ideas beyond current knowledge usually results in
more interesting and developed work.
– Producing: Architecture is tested through making. Not having work to show is detrimental
to the progress of the project. Anything is better than nothing.

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Software:
The more tools you know, the more knowledge you have at your disposal.
A) Rhino
B) Grasshopper
1. Elk
2. Weaverbird
C) Adobe CS
Reading List:
Reading material can be found on the studio website, as well as all studio materials (lectures,
assignments, links)
https://sites.google.com/view/grieb-gsaku-202001

Schedule:
The schedule on the following page is an outline of our progress. It is very important to follow it as a
guide to where projects should be at any given time. However, specifics may change according to the
overall progress of the studio. Please understand, then, that my studios are sometimes flexible, but
sometimes constrained.

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 WEEK TOPIC GOAL DUE (Every Tuesday)
1 Case Study Research Understand tower + podium
03.10 typology, alternatives, and
03.13
programmatic organization
2 Case Study Research Understand tower + podium - Case Study 001A
03.17 typology, alternatives, and
03.20
programmatic organization
3 Site: The City Examine organization and - Site Constructs 001A
03.24 qualities of Seoul as a habitat
03.27

4 Site: The City Examine organization and - Site Constructs 001B

03.31 qualities of Seoul as a habitat
04.03
5 Design Strategy Define design argument: - Design Strategy 001A
04.07 Diagramming
04.10
6 Design Strategy Refine design argument: - Design Strategy 001B
04.14 Drawings
04.17
7 Design Strategy Refine design argument: - Sections
04.21 Drawings & Modeling - Plans
04.24
8 Production - Diagrams
04.28 - Renders
05.01
- Physical Study Models
9 Production - Sections
05.05 - Plans
05.08
- Diagrams
- Renders
Mid-Review - Physical Study Models
10 Design Edit Design Refinement - Analysis of Review Comments
05.12 - Revised Drawings
05.15
11 Building Design Design Development - Desk Crits
05.19 - Program
05.22
12 Building Design Design Development - Desk Crits
05.26
05.29
13 Building Design Clarification of Design - Revised Physical Tests +
06.02 Argument Drawings
06.05
- Prepared Verbal Presentation
14 Production - tbd
06.09
06.12
15 Production - Physical Models
06.17
06.19
16 Production - All work
06.23 - Clear communication of design
06.26
Final Review argument

Note: Work will be due every Tuesday and will be discussed individually through desk crits. Revised work
will be due every Friday through group pin-ups. This schedule is a rough outline, but work before mid-
review is devoted to generating design strategies/arguments. Work after mid-review is devoted to the
architectural refinement of those strategies. It is important to not waste time changing strategies
after mid-review.

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