BY SENA KAYASÜ (ARCH/III)
Last Thursday afternoon, architecture students explored the workings of brick in a seminar and workshop, with real terra cotta brought in by Işıklar Klinker Brick Group. The event was organized by ARCH 252 Construction and Materials instructors Orhan Uludağ and Glenn Terry Kukkola in order to familiarize students with brick. They noted that it is a good experience to touch the real material in order to understand what form it wants to take.
The workshop took place in the Mescit parking lot, where the students aimed to create a form that allowed brick to “express itself,” using 100 individual bricks. The students were divided into six five-member teams; after completion, the projects were judged by a jury made up of three Işıklar representatives as well as the course instructors, with the three best results chosen for awards.
First prize went to “The Screen Wall” for complexity of work, use of material and variety of form. Honorable mention was given to Team “Doghouse,” as the only project suggesting social awareness: a shelter for animals.
When asked, the jury stated that the students initially struggled because they had become too accustomed to working with a plan and an objective. Without given requirements, they initially froze. It was also essential for the students to practice creating a work in a group. They were all eventually rewarded, however, by having to restack the bricks.