Teaching
University of MinnesotaMinneapolis, MN2021-2022Through the course of 7 weeks, students discover an existing building through an archive. Below are excerpts of the syllabus, student work samples, and SRT/SROI excerpts.
Syllabus Excerpts
Studio Goals:
To frame the relationship between practice (and its deliverables) and research (and its explorations) in the context of the (already) built environment
To encourage the recognition of architectural representation as a language of its own
To promote the value of communication through drawings
To unveil the process of documenting design intent
To ignite a student-driven historiographic body of work
Process:
The construction documents for Marcel Breuer’s Saint John’s Abbey in Collegeville, MN will be the basis for this studio’s exploration. Students will be tasked with developing an investigative analysis of the architectural and engineering sets of drawings that led to the construction of the abbey in Saint John’s University in the 1950’s, relying on the Syracuse University Marcel Breuer Digital Archive.
The class will be encouraged to craft a historiography via the original drawings, sketches, specifications, and photographs, and to translate it into new documentation. Beyond this investigation, each student will propose and argue for a “Second Act” to the life of the building: addition, subtraction, remodel, retrofit, demolition, restoration, and so on.
Outcomes:
By the end of this studio, students will have gained experience in the following:
How to read construction documents (architecture and adjacent disciplines)
How to effectively communicate through representation
How to acquire knowledge relative to an existing building
How to present and argue for a proposal
Student Rating of Teaching
2021 Spring:
Instructor Items Overall: Mean 5.62 / 6.00
Course Items Overall: Mean 5.43 / 6.00
“She gave feedback that not only reflected the new work she was looking at that day, but she also had the recall to reference back to each students' individual past work. This was impressive and helped me not forget about the work I had already done so that I could continue bringing it forward to develop my project.” - 2021 Spring Graduate Student
“Gabriela used feedback to push work forward and dream about what was coming next. This helped momentum in the course and helped the course feel about learning and development rather than challenge and evaluation. It was a very productive atmosphere.”
- 2021 Spring Graduate Student
2021 Fall:
Instructor Items Overall: Mean 5.42 / 6.00
Course Items Overall: Mean 5.32 / 6.00
“Gabriela was a wonderful teacher that was obviously very passionate about my education. Lectures felt very useful and applicable to my future in the design field. Also, one–on–one conversations with Gabriela were very engaging and she would never leave a conversation without me understanding the task / concept. I loved my project in this course and I'm glad I came out with actual knowledge to use in the architectural profession.”
- 2021 Fall Undergraduate Student
“Gabriela helped me grow as an architectural student. She encouraged the class to think outside of the box and personally helped me discover what I really love about architecture. She pushed me enough to keep me challenged, but she was also there to help guide me when I needed help. She encouraged different ways of thinking, drawing and modeling. Overall she was a really supportive and nurturing instructor. Probably one of the best studio instructors I've ever had, if not one of the best instructors.”
- 2021 Fall Undergraduate Student
Sample of Student Work
Each image below represents one class time critique session held via Miro during the spring of 2021.
Credit: Emily Sanchez, Olivia Breuer, Cassidy Johnson, Kennawak Geneti, Luis Hernandez, Jonathan Clay, Kayla Boogren, Kerry Kennedy, Isaiah Scharen, Lauren Tateosian. Spring 2021 students, GD1 A Term - University of Minnesota School of Architecture.
