Master/Piece Wordshop is an exploration of 3 pioneering and creative practices that are considered influential in contemporary architecture, and are crucial in shaping the landscape of architectural thinking today. The discussion will revolve around some key works of these practices and the processes and thinking methods that have shaped their projects. We will then study the impact of these chains of thought and focus on constructive ideas that will be discussed with the masters who will join the class to culminate the analysis and conversation.

Note: Students interested must have participated in a climate corps workshop (4.183 or 4.184 ) or internship (MITOS Summer cohort ‘24 or PKG Climate IAP ‘25) or by permission of the instructor. 

Description

Part of a multi-partner, multi-year collaboration, the workshop operates as a corps where students (graduates or undergraduates) work on tangible projects that advance campus, local city or neighborhood climate or climate justice plans and goals. Working individually or in teams, students drive projects, which build on the MIT Office of Sustainability strategic approach to the campus as a test bed and ongoing partnerships with community-based organizations or city agencies in Boston and Cambridge. Ongoing themes we have been exploring include:

• Extreme heat
• Circularity and designing out waste
• Community farms
• Equitable career paths
• Climate and resiliency hubs.

Students develop a project plan with the partner and support of the instructor, setting personal learning goals to deepen their understanding of their chosen theme, their skills and practical experience in project development and implementation. Students learn from each other through weekly reflections and discussion of intersecting dimensions of design and impact: climate, community and careers. 

In order to hit the ground running, students should email the instructor a description of what they would like to work on and why. 

Partners and collaborators: MITOS; PKG; Urban Risk Lab; DesignX; SA+P; Eastie Farm Climate Corps; PowerCorpsBOS; MIT Facilities; City of Cambridge. 

Note on units: Students taking the course for 3 units will propose projects that can be completed during weekly class time, with targeted research and meetings outside of class. Students taking the course for 9 units will undertake projects involving more extensive outside research, partner engagement.

As cities, industries, and manufacturing systems have formed over centuries, their waste streams are producing an ever-growing accumulation of matter, a material stockpile that can be mined. In the present time of climate crisis, when resourcefulness and critical, creative practices are becoming imperative, the agency of the designer shifts to appreciate scavenged, processed, & off-cut materials, and hone new ways of imagining what they can produce.

For the OFFCUT/CUTOFF IAP Workshop, we will immerse ourselves in the environment of metal parts manufacturing that underpins the Bahrain’s HVAC and air conditioning industries. We will study, analyze, and map the Awal Group’s operations, material sources and waste streams. Offcuts from the manufacturing of ducts and HVAC systems will form a palette of materials that we will upcycle through a series of fabrication exercises and design prototypes. Students will explore techniques including but not be limited to metal rolling, bending, casting, and punching. Digital algorithmic inventory matching tools, developed in the MIT ODDS & MODS material circularity curriculum, will help us design with the irregular archive of offcut materials and guide the fabrication process.

The results of the workshop will be showcased along the Pearling Path in Muharraq. During our time on the island, we will be engaging with local metal smelters and design studios, including Bahraini-Danish, Civil Architecture and Studio Anne Holtrop.

Advance sign-up required by 1/15/2025

Sites are often represented as static, empty plots of land. In reality, every site is an environment—an interconnected system shaped by ecological, cultural, and material relationships. These environments extend vertically into the sky, horizontally through soil and ecosystems, and inward to unseen processes such as microorganisms and material histories. How can experimental drawing and representation techniques reveal these complexities and reshape the way we design? 

This workshop invites participants to reimagine sites as living systems and engage in collaborative design practices. Focusing on a local, seemingly vacant lot, we will investigate the site’s temporal and spatial dynamics—tracing its layers of interaction and exploring how elements and materials influence its identity. By reframing traditional notions of scale and boundaries, we will uncover the opportunities of co-authorship amongst the environments, forces and creatures. 

The Wiesner Gallery will act as a hub for both a workshop and exhibition space. Each day, participants will gather in the gallery to experiment with prototypes, drawings, and multimedia techniques. Collaboration and play will guide the approach, creating an open and exploratory environment where games facilitate dialogue and negotiation. This collective exploration will reveal the site’s interconnected urban and architectural layers from the perspectives of diverse actors. The workshop will culminate in a public exhibition at the end of January, showcasing our collective discoveries.

The workshop will take place daily at the Wiesner Gallery at MIT. It will culminate in an exhibition, likely Jan-31-Feb 2. Students should bring their laptops to all sessions.

This course examines the challenges faced by the oasis agro-ecosystems, focusing on Tunisia's Nefzawa region as a case study and delves into the historical, environmental, and socio-economic factors at play in the region. By reviewing the literature, analyzing climate projections, and utilizing Earth observation data, students will learn about the unsustainable use of natural resources, worsened by climate change and land/water dispossession processes.

The course will highlight pathways to resilience and alternative economic models centered on “commons” and “oasis connectivity.” We will identify ways to integrate/combine traditional low-tech commoning practices with modern technology to enhance community resilience and promote biodiversity, while seeking innovative approaches that go beyond simply preserving environmental and agricultural heritage.

Students will participate in scenario-building exercises for the Nefzawa oases, drawing insights applicable to broader urban areas across the Arab world, many of which are projected to become uninhabitable by the end of the century. The course will emphasize social and climate justice as essential components of sustainable futures, positioning design as a tool for societal transformation and collective action.

In this interdisciplinary setting, that bridges humanities and STEM fields, students will critically assess the balance between innovation and remembrance in design. They will explore how these unique eco-social landscapes can inform broader decolonial frameworks in architecture, urban planning, and design, addressing urgent challenges like climate change, resource scarcity, and socio-economic inequality. In this studio, we will delve into the dual narratives of the heavenly aspects and imaginaries of oases while confronting the harsh realities of plunder, drought, and ecological destruction.

Students in teams accepted to the MITdesignX accelerator begin work on their ventures in this intense two-week bootcamp. Participants identify the needs and problems that demonstrate the demand for their innovative technology, policy, products, and/or services. They research and investigate various markets and stakeholders pertinent to their ventures, and begin to test their ideas and thesis in real-world interviews and interactions. Subject presented in workshop format, giving teams the chance to jump-start their ventures together with a cohort of people working on ideas that span the realm of design, planning real estate, and the human environment.

This course explores the concept of resilient aging in the built environment, addressing two interconnected dimensions: the aging of people and the aging of cities and buildings that no longer meet contemporary needs. By reframing aging as both a challenge and an opportunity, the course examines strategies to understand, intervene in, and transform the built environment to better support evolving societal needs. Rather than relying solely on top-down design and planning approaches, this class emphasizes bottom-up interventions and participatory design methods to understand and engage vulnerable populations. The course approaches aging through three interrelated topics: the adaptive reuse and activation of aging urban infrastructure, the retrofitting of aging suburbs through innovative housing and real estate models, and the application of advanced urban technologies to analyze and understand resident behavior in aging and informal settlements. These topics aim to provide students with the knowledge and tools to reimagine the built environment, fostering resilience and equity for aging populations and the spaces they inhabit. The first half of each session will be lectures, providing foundational knowledge and sharing related research works, while the second half will be dedicated to discussions, allowing students to engage with the materials and collaborate on the topics.

Technology is vital for local governments to deliver services. But when technologists "move fast and break things" in the public sector, systems fail and people suffer. Governments must responsibly innovate and integrate ideas from the private sector, while safeguarding the public interest. This seminar examines how local governments and the tech sector can collaborate to best serve their short and long-term shared goals.