Material Cultures and Material Constructs

This edition of Studio as Book illustrates the studio teaching, student work, research and knowledge exchange of the Masters in Architectural Design Studio 16 [DS16] in the School of Architecture + Cities at the University of Westminster, spanning an extensive period from 2011 to 2024. It is the final in a series of books published by the school between 2016 and 2025 that interrogated and reflected on the range of approaches to design pedagogy practiced in the school, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

Over the period that this book covers, Design Studio 16 [DS16] established itself as a platform for students to develop and interrogate experimental architectural concepts initiated by investigations of material cultures and through the exploration of techniques of physical making. This 'design-through-making' approach has been immensely supported by an ongoing relationship with Grymsdyke Farm, the research and fabrication facility located in rural Lacey Green, Buckinghamshire in the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The book presents a selection of analogue, digital and hybrid making endeavours, done both collectively and individually, most of which were conceived, fabricated and installed at the farm. This work sits alongside students' main individual thesis projects as well as a selection of student and tutor collaborations in practice.