In the courtyard of the Rice Global Paris Center, students gathered around a stack of reused ceramic water pipes, puzzling over how to turn them into a cooling column. The project, part of the summer course Architectural Structures: Art, Form, Resiliency, and Sustainability, demanded both creative design and practical problem-solving.
“I wasn't totally sure about it when we first started,” said Lucy Rixner, a junior studying civil engineering. “I wasn't sure how sturdy it would be and it was really interesting to work out if it was going to work, see what we could do to make it stronger. Figuring out that we needed to brace it better or change how it was put together — that was a really good learning opportunity for me.”
The three-week course, co-taught by assistant professor of architecture Juan José Castellón and assistant teaching professor of civil and environmental engineering Kalil Erazo, paired architecture and engineering students to study how sustainable structures are conceived and built. It culminated in the hands-on construction of the cooling column, which was designed in collaboration with French architecture firm MANERA.
“This project was born from research by MANERA on the use of clay throughout history from the domestic to the territorial scale,” said Castellón. “Our Paris prototype was designed and built in collaboration with Victor Maréchal, cofounder of MANERA, as a synthesis of the principles and philosophy of the course, which promotes new paradigms in collaborative and interdisciplinary education integrating the fields of engineering and architecture.”
Maréchal said working with the students highlighted the benefits of merging disciplines early in the design process.
“Every time it is a collaboration, there are many more possibilities,” Maréchal said.
Erazo noted that this integration mirrors how landmark projects are achieved in practice.
“The objective of the course was to introduce students from both programs to the principles of architectural and structural design from a holistic collaborative perspective, rather than a transactional operation between the two disciplines,” Erazo said. “Indeed, impressive infrastructure from the Eiffel Tower to the Burj Khalifa were conceived and designed through a process where all disciplines were integrated from the early stage of the project.”
The course mixed lectures with site visits across Paris, turning iconic landmarks and lesser-known gems into living laboratories. Students studied buildings such as the Eiffel Tower, Maison Jaoul, Ville Savoye, the Pompidou Centers in Paris and Metz, Notre Dame, Palais Garnier, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation (among many others), analyzing them through the dual lenses of design intent and structural performance.
“I really enjoyed how many site visits we had during this trip,” Rixner said. “It was really interesting to be able to see all these different places — some of which focus more on the architecture side, some of which looked at the structure — and just to think about them in new ways.”
Architecture major Norah Cichowski, a junior, said the course broadened her understanding of the technical side of design while highlighting the similarities between the two fields.
“It was really interesting to learn more about engineering and to see how engineers think about design and structure,” Cichowski said. “I think it’s important for architects to have a better understanding of how structures actually work and for engineers to understand the design intent behind a project.”
For Rixner, the experience also bridged a gap between students in the two disciplines.
“One thing about this course is that it helped me to realize just how similar architecture and civil engineering are and we don't often put them together,” Rixner said. “We should be looking towards each other for ideas and feedback and just working together.”
By the end of the course, the medieval courtyard was home to a functioning cooling column and to a model of what integrated architectural and engineering practice can achieve.
“The students worked in teams to come up with strategies and solutions to design and construction issues that arise when working in infrastructure-type projects,” Erazo said. “What made the experience special was the opportunity to include design aspects from both professions and then see the theory in practice on the field.”
Learn more about what’s happening at the Rice Global Paris Center here.