Kit House

The studio will explore the potential convergence of the American twentieth century tradition of the Kit House (exemplified by the Sears Modern Homes of 1908-1940) with the ultra contemporary Off-Site Manufacturing (OSM) phenomenon, which is revolutionizing our perception of building. As such, this new studio extends (and re-focusses) the thorough exploration of OSM carried out in 2018 and 2019 in the two option studios themed 'Model As Building – Building As Model'. This studio will focus on the Kit House. The tone will be both pragmatic and speculative. We will explore the instrumental and disciplinary implications of the house as product design, pre-made fabrication, self-assembly, design documentation, packaging, and delivery, as against the background of the new OSM paradigm.

While affordable housing had been the vocation of OSM pretty much throughout the twentieth century, need no longer the dominant factor. Desire in all its contemporary forms is now equally important (think consumer politics, digital technology, social media culture, and money).

This course will meet weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
George Legendre will be in residence on the following days: January 25, 27; February 1, 3, 8, 10; March 1, 3, 22, 24; April 12, 14 and for final reviews.
Class will be held via Zoom on all other Tuesdays and Thursdays.