Escuela de Politécnica Superior

El capítulo analiza cómo el concepto de vivienda ha evolucionado a lo largo del tiempo, acumulando diversos adjetivos que reflejan las ideologías y necesidades de diferentes épocas, mostrando cómo la vivienda ha sido vista no solo como un espacio físico, sino también como un indicador de valores sociopolíticos y económicos. Estos adjetivos, aunque útiles para entender las transformaciones en el concepto de vivienda, también pueden vaciar de contenido el término "vivienda" en sí. La vivienda adjetivada se convierte en un reflejo de las presiones del mercado, la economía y la política, y su estudio permite rastrear los intereses y preocupaciones de la sociedad en diferentes momentos históricos.

The scientific understanding of the concepts of cold and heat that have accompanied the human species throughout history has not been easy. The concept of heat is more widespread and studied among us, as well as its consequences. However, we wonder what would happen if we lowered the temperature a lot? As the temperature begins to drop, it can be predicted that the atoms tend to slow down, slowing down their speed, and when this happens, existing theories begin to tremble. The laws governing the atomic world, so small and tiny, do not allow objects (atoms, protons, neutrons, etc.) to stop. This is where quantum physics appears, it tells us how particles behave at the atomic level, and they appear in a forceful way when we approach temperature values around absolute zero. If atoms stopped moving, they would have zero energy, however, quantum mechanics makes it impossible to have this kind of energy.

Juan Navarro Baldeweg´s installation Interior III (1975) was exhib ited at the Center for Advanced Visual Studies (CAVS) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1975, as a compendium of the research that he began to develop around the exploration of optical phenomena and color, seeking to investigate those mechanisms that allow observation, apprehension, and the understanding of the environment. The installation is part of a series, in which, starting from empty rooms, Juan Navarro Baldeweg explored various concepts and ideas, which, over time, came to be what he called the essential variables that can be found in his architectural designs and works of art. The study of this instal lation and the optical pieces that he created in this context can help us understand in depth some of these variables, which ended up laying the foundations on which his unique professional career is based.

Digital fabrication technologies can be powerful tools for architectural representation, assisting during the fabrication of physical models and prototypes useful in architectural design. The use of these technologies can contribute to complement conventional architectural drawings by allowing the creation of physical models, prototypes and architectural models of constructive details or structural elements, to be used as visualization and communication tools to explore different solutions during the design phase. Therefore, it seems appropriate to reflect and work towards a better integration between the latest digital fabrication technologies and architectural graphic tools to assist the architect. This paper will try to deepen on the applications of digital fabrication in the field of Architecture, based on the projects carried out in Fab Lab Madrid CEU, the Digital Fabrication Laboratory based at CEU University, reflecting about the potential of milling machines, laser cutters, 3D printers and molding and casting technologies to materialize ideas and projects.

El presente escrito trata de mostrar cuánto el análisis del paisaje urbano en la apro­ximación a una ciudad como Madrid se ha constituido perceptivamente por medio de diferentes hitos en los que resultan clave aspectos perceptivos relacionados con la mirada. Si bien incardinar el paisaje urbano poniendo el foco en estos hitos goza de una larga y desigual tradición académica, no es menos cierto que hasta el momento, y más en el caso de esta ciudad, se ha dejado de lado un estudio de la mirada relacionada con el fenómeno de la pura óptica. En ese territorio se mueven las siguientes líneas.

Teaching drawing to new architecture students with their eagerness to learn quickly, requires us to look back to the past in order to be able to move forward in teaching the present. As experienced teachers, we need to question how we teach. Beginners are always the same age, but we teachers are one year older each academic year. The aim of this paper is to provide answers for students and teachers as we seek a shared space where we can all learn – some for the first time and others once again. Drawing outside, away from the classrooms, changes the locus of our everyday learning. We move away from academia and at the same time become aware of new sensations, quite different to those experienced in formal settings. Discomfort, wind, cold or heat, the sun on our skin, all enliven our senses and prepare us all on equal terms for the task of drawing. Teacher and pupil are less distant, our heads and hands are at the same height. The experience gained from several days drawing outdoors allows us to embark on a new learning from memory based on what we have learned.

Based on relevant publications focusing on architects’ travel sketches, a single common framework is established: the city of Siena and specifically the Piazza del Campo as a study laboratory. The sketches made there by Erik Gunnar Asplund, Louis Kahn, Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, Michael Graves and Álvaro Siza during their time in the city have been chosen. The drawings are contextualized in time and in accordance with a particular personal instance for each one of them. The technique, the format, the framing, the system of representation, and the layout of their sketches are taken into consideration with the aim of establishing a systematic way of comparison. An in-depth analysis of these sketches helps to reveal the differences in the learning process that each of the authors experienced during their respective trips throughout the city.