The design studio explores The Act of Joining as both a constructive and a collective principle for a new Mensa building on the university campus in Rostock.
Drawing on architectural historian and theorist Kenneth Frampton’s Studies in Tectonic Culture: The Poetics of Construction, the studio distinguishes between construction and tectonics. Construction describes how things are technically assembled, while tectonics asks how acts of making, joining, and supporting can acquire architectural meaning. The joint, as the point where two building components meet, thus becomes more than a technical necessity: it becomes a means of architectural expression.
The architectural microcosm of the joint serves as the starting point for our design process. At this small scale, we ask you to make the underlying logic of the entire building visible from the outset. How are its parts related? What does the building express? How has it been conceived? What narrative does it tell? And how can this initial detail be developed into a system or matrix that accommodates different spatial configurations and supports diverse forms of use and occupation?
At the same time, we explore the other meaning of the joint: not only as the point where different materials and structures meet, but also as a place where eople come together. This collective understanding of joining resonates with the ideas of architectural Structuralism, which shifted the focus away from the rationalist, technocratic planning that had characterized much of post-war construction towards a more human-centred approach. This approach emphasized the relationships between the individual and the community, and between the house and the city. Architecture was understood as a framework for social relationships, creating spaces that foster encounters, exchange, participation, and a sense of community.
As a collective joint within the university campus of Rostock, the Mensa should be conceived and designed as a place where different groups, activities, and forms of campus life converge. Nutrition is only one of its functions; learning, meeting, working, and informal exchange can be equally important.
To explore The Act of Joining, the studio will embark on an unconventional design journey. A carefully sequenced series of steps will bring together thematic lectures, focused research, and close readings of architectural precedents. At its heart lies a detailed investigation of joints: how elements meet, how connections take shape, and how these encounters can generate broader architectural systems.
Examiners:
Prof. Job Floris
Prof. Elisabeth Endres
Tutors:
Simona Mohammadi, Malte Schmidt
Type of assignment:
Individual work
Language:
Introduction and weekly tutorials are conducted in German. Presentations and critiques are held
bilingual in English and German.
Introduction and issuing of the task:
Wed 04 November 2026, 11:00
Field trip to Berlin:
Thu 12 Nov to Fri 13 Nov 2026
Tutorials:
Tuesdays / Wednesdays
Interim critiques:
Wed 25 Nov 2026
Wed 16 Dec 2026
Wed 13 Jan 2027
Submission (digitally):
17.02.2027
Presentation:
Calendar week 11