Casual Encounters, Partial Architectures

This course, as framed here, suggests the informal gathering of residents in underutilized urban spaces in Pittsburgh and, secondly, an encounter with architecture that privileges fleeting over fixed scenarios, porous over closed (hermetic) environments, low rather than high resources, and partial constructs over complete buildings. Accordingly, we sidestep the usual conventions that order architectural production and seek instead moments where partial constructions can transform our perceptions and experience of urban space. Through small-scale architectural and urban interventions, we aim to encourage the collective occupation of public spaces that increase urban vitality, incite conversations about urban life, and deepen our sense of belonging to place.

Located in and around abandoned lots and buildings, our activations (interventions) take a variety of forms: communal tables, portable kitchens, tent/shade structures, inflatables, greenhouses, sports/play areas, stages, signage, kiosks. Students take on the design and construction of their interventions, ranging from full-scale, partial, or mock-up fragments.