The Master of Architecture II 2015 Thesis Exhibition

Thursday, September 10, 2015, 6 - 8pm

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THE CRITICAL MOMENT2

ADVANCED DESIGN STUDIO GRADUATE THESIS

The criticality of this moment for re-thinking the object of architecture through a critical approach to architectural discourse is at the core of the Advanced Research Studio. Established boundaries are questioned by articulating architecture with other discourses, not as a pre-assumed necessity, but out of the questions that are raised by the studio's program and the projects produced in it.

Based on the premise that there is no separation between theory and practice and specifically, between research and project, but rather a continuum, the studio work is based on extensive research from environmental sciences to philosophy, history, technology, arts and media, focusing on the design process in terms of the multiple forces at play in its production, thus opening the field. Transcending the limitations of a product-oriented approach, new perspectives and narratives that generate potential solutions are developed.

Without disciplinary boundaries, the projects address a myriad of critical issues affecting today’s environment and the discourses for which it is an object, ranging from the urban condition to globalization, the continual emergence of new scientific developments and technologies, new modes of seeing and the earth's history and transformations, seen with a critical approach to established conceptions of urbanism and ecology.

The Advanced Research Studio takes all of this into consideration so that the work not only responds to the specific assignments but is, in itself, an intellectual project whereby the question of the critical place and relevance of the problem in architectural discourse is addressed.

Opening Reception: Thursday, September 10, 6:00-8:00pm

On view September 10 - 25, 2015

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 12-7pm

Located in the Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Gallery, 7 East 7th Street, 2nd Floor, between Third and Fourth Avenues

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  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.