According to the syllabus, the main objective of the design studio V is ecological design. To achieve this goal, the program of the design studio is to discover how the relationship between manmade elements and natural elements can work together to create more sustainable areas for users. The ecological is not limited to environmental aspects but also social, economic, cultural and political aspects are parts of this issue. Overall, a city as an existing phenomenon uses sources such as landform, water, air, and green spaces to produce other things such as buildings, roads, and infrastructure with both positive and negative effects. Therefore, the area of the city is totally different from the surrounding areas based on this new form of space production in which cities are more hard-scape such as concert, metal, glass, brick and asphalt, on the opposite, the surrounding areas are more soft-scape such as farms, forest, open field, hills and natural parts. Apparently, ecological questions, problems, and threats require a global responsibility of architects for problem-solving through green and ecological design projects, particularly in the remained areas in the city, which they have the potential to conserve, redevelop, and redesign with an ecological approach.
The Architectural Design studio V focuses on the project of a peri-urban settlement on the north east side of Murama Hill in Kigali. Students work in the same time on an urban scale with the concept of an urban plan, and on an architectural scale with the design of various housing typologies conceived as basic elements of the new settlement’s urban composition. Both on the urban scale and on the architectural scale, the project have to be developed in relation to the morfological context and the built environment existing on this side of the hill. So, the study of the existing territorial and urban patterns will precede the urban concept, and the study of existing groups of housing will precede the design of houses typologies. On the architectural scale, the use of earth as material of construction of buildings is considered a prerequisite of the project. Therefore, in addition to the study of the existing territorial, urban and architectural context, students will study (with drawings and models) some examples of contemporary houses built with earth, in various parts of the world.
This course of structures III covers the following:
Part 1: Design of steel structures
Part 2: Design of timber structures
Part 3: Principles of building structures
Landscape design has been a manmade activity to change environment on the base philosophy, epistemology, methodology, and ideology of the Man. The result has been included both promotional and erosion-al effects in consciousness and unconsciousness aspects to form the Man environment from primitive to progressive actions in different location, position, and condition in whole history of the world. It seems that all activities launched from locality, aboriginality, and personality to occupation, commoditization, and globalization. Therefore, reminded traces of ancient time explain the first landscape designing were initiated on the base of human needs and believes in religious, ritual, ideological, cultural, social, political, governmental, agricultural, and economical to demonstrate all aspects as built environment in designing, construction, constituting those landforms, landmarks, and symbols .