After successful completion of the course, students are able to

• recognize and name basic design methods
• to analyze the essential qualities of an object, a three-dimensional shape or a material and to derive solutions for their own creative work
• transfer observations into design concepts
• refine their perception of form of three-dimensional objects in relation to their concrete sculptural reality and to be self-critical of their own creative work
• recognize the creative scope of given rules and to set up their own rules for their design approaches
• translate essential formal and spatial qualities of their form wishes (imaginations, concepts, ideas) into working models and to experimentally test and reflect them in physical space determined by gravity
• use process-oriented idea development for one's own design intentions and to generate procedural and sensorimotor knowledge from it
• broaden their understanding of the conditions of form (possibilities and limitations) of a three-dimensional object, depending on sensory perception, the tool used, the material chosen and the production possibilities associated with it
• bring together the elements gained from the analysis of form into a sculpturally effective, compositionally successful and thematically fulfilling study of form

Questions about the course can be answered from Tue, Sept. 12th, 2023:

(For any concerns or questions that the info on TISS cannot answer, please contact studass+e264-02@tuwien.ac.at with the subject 3DG.)

linking
Through the current from one bank to another.

The built environment has to relate to the human body as it needs to reflect its qualities and functionalities, such as scale, movement and fragility. Considering those aspects, multiple questions arise: How do urban structures relate to humans? How do rigid buildings relate with the vulnerable human body? What kind of dialogues are created between form, structure, material and humans and how do they manifest themselves? How can we learn to balance the communication between existing urban structures, natural space and our human needs?By exploring the physical connections between our bodies and our urban context, in an abstract experimental way, this seminar aims to increase students’ awareness of the importance of the human body within their design processes. Three dimensional forms will emerge through this exploration that tackle basic design aspects such as balance, orientation, space perception and materiality.

“Think of a river and its banks. We might speak of the relation of one bank to the other, and crossing a bridge, we might find ourselves halfway between the two. But the banks are continually being formed and reformed by the waters of the river as they sweep by. These waters flow in between the banks, along a line orthogonal to the span of the bridge. To say of beings and things that they are in-between is to align our awareness with the waters; to correspond with them is to join this awareness with the flow.”
– Tim Ingold, Correspondences, 2017, p. 41.

Anthropologist Tim Ingold’s metaphor illustrates how we could think about, and work with, immaterial and physical connections between our individual bodies and the immediate public space. To gain a deeper understanding of how we want to live together in an urban environment, we need to approach it from within rather than looking down from above. Our aspiration for this year’s topic is to rethink notions of identity, belonging and individuality in relation to space as well as to reflect on how we can deal with the mass of materials available to us. In this course we consider creative practices as a basis for the production of knowledge. The confrontation with, and reflection on, specific methods and production processes in the application of individual creative projects is an essential part. The course consists of five practical exercises that lead progressively to the final form, reflecting upon the semester’s topic. The exercises are accompanied by theoretical input in the form of weekly lectures. This constant interrelation between practice and theory is essential in gaining knowledge and a deeper insight on the discussed thematic.

The lecture gives a comprehensive insight into various topics of three-dimensional design. General design methods and questions of visual perception are discussed and enhanced by relevant examples from art, design and architecture. Basic manufacturing methods, material-related procedures and model making techniques are presented. The lecture also accompanies the exercise and deals in detail with the topic of the semester programme. The exercise examines the form conditions of sculptural objects as a function of perception, design tool, material and associated manufacturing conventions. It places the physical (working) model and the analytical drawing as design tools in the foreground of a thematically founded, analogous investigation of form. The exercise concludes with a sculptural form study, which should correspond to the following criteria: Recognizability of the semester topic, quality of composition and development in space, appropriateness of choice of material, degree of abstraction, surface qualities and precise craftsmanship.

• Lecture series with visual support, presentation of production methods, guest lectures by artists, cultural scientists or designers, film screenings
• analytical form investigations (= subdivision into concise form elements) with the help of drawings, geometric concepts and working models as home-exercises
• the initial adherence to given design rules and the resulting establishment, adherence to and qualitative evaluation of one's own rules
• getting to know and experimenting with different model construction methods based on the material used
• the exploration of the aesthetic and creative possibilities and properties of various materials and manufacturing conventions through playful, operative handling of the manufactured objects in space (e.g. spatial location, spatial volume vs. mass volume, etc.)
• the detection of the qualitative creative potential in the interplay between part and whole of a composition through contextualization within a compositional space
• the examination of the possibilities of the spatially and sculpturally effective staging of a form study for the exhibition (display)

Questions about the course can be answered from Tue, Sept. 12th, 2023:

(For any concerns or questions that the info on TISS cannot answer, please contact studass+e264-02@tuwien.ac.at with the subject 3DG.)

The introductory lecture will be held on 5/10/2023 at 11:00 in the Computer Science Courtroom! This is followed by a first meeting in the individual groups.

Teaching groups

A01 Tu, 9 am to 1 pm  

A02 Tu, 9 am to 1 pm 

A03 Tu, 9 am to 1 pm  

A04  Tu, 2 pm to 6 pm

B05 Fr, 2 pm to 6 pm 

B06 Fr, 2 pm to 6 pm 

B07 Tu, 2 pm to 6 pm 

B08 Tu, 2 pm to 6 pm 

C09 Th, 2 pm to 6 pm 

C10 Th, 2 pm to 6 pm 

C11 Th, 2 pm to 6 pm  

C12 Fr, 2 pm to 6 pm 

D13 Mo, 2 pm to 6 pm

D14 Mo, 02 pm to 6 pm

D15 Fr, 9 am to 1 pm

D16 Fr, 9 am to 1 pm 

E17 Fr, 9 am to 1 pm 

E18 Mo, 9 am to 1 pm 

E19 Mo, 9 am to 1 pm

E20 Mo, 9 am to 1 pm

For group appointments that are affected by holidays, alternative dates will be arranged with the tutors!

• attendance and participation in weekly meetings, where feedback is only given if work performance is evident in the form of sketches and working models
• chronologically kept work diary (sketchbook, ring bound drawing block) throughout the semester, which is presented at each meeting; the work process itself is an important part of the evaluation and must be documented
• five building up subtasks, which are briefly presented and graded on mandatory deadlines
• submission of the tasks, which have been developed in the sub-tasks, in the form of a concrete, sensually perceptible 1:1 object which should correspond to the criteria described in the course content (Lehrinhalt)
• for the final grade, all sub-grades are considered. Also, the oral or written answers to questions about the content of the lecture
• the semester exercise is carried out exclusively in individual work

Questions about the course can be answered from Tue, Sept. 12th, 2023:

(For any concerns or questions that the info on TISS cannot answer, please contact studass+e264-02@tuwien.ac.at with the subject 3DG.)

Mandatory requirement:

• StEOP (lt. Curriculum)

We strongly recommend all students to have completed the following courses:

• VU Darstellende Geometrie
• VU Zeichnen und visuelle Sprachen 1
• VU Zeichnen und visuelle Sprachen 2

Further information about the entry regulations, the registration and the exercise rules of the course can be found in the document section. 

• The ability to understand or develop three-dimensional facts using two-dimensional drawings.
• Basic knowledge and skills in model making

 Questions about the course can be answered from Tue, Sept. 12th, 2023:

(For any concerns or questions that the info on TISS cannot answer, please contact studass+e264-02@tuwien.ac.at with the subject 3DG.)