The first year of the Building Technology track at TU Delft culminates in two courses: MEGA and EXTREME. These two courses, though being quite different, both seek to make students apply everything that they have learned throughout the year in the areas of climate design, structural design, computation, and facade design. These disciplines come together in a project to solve a real-world problem. The students work with stakeholders and companies that give guidance in these projects.
MEGA
Like the name, MEGA focuses on a large scale project. This year the project was a high-rise complex for European Commission in Brussels. The students did the site visit in Brussels and were made into teams for the design proposal. Each student team was made of around 7 people focusing on different disciplines: Management, Architecture, Structural design, Facade design, Climate design, and Computational design. Each member contributing within their discipline to the success of the whole project in an integrated way. The teams produced many innovative designs at the end of the quarter. The stakeholders and consultants were very satisfied with the work and seeing the possibilities for this narrow site. Prizes were awarded for the most innovative design, most integrated design, and most innovative fire safety solution.
EXTREME
The EXTREME studio focuses on a non-typical project in an extreme environment. The devastation caused by hurricanes Irma and Maria created unimaginable challenges on Sint Maarten for the culture as well for the technology and architects. But it also gave new opportunities for growth and improvement. A momentum to rebuild the Island that will meet the needs of the inhabitants and future generations. Fifty students of the Faculty of Architecture and the Built environment at the TU Delft were asked to think of different design and technology solutions to make the island more resilient to future hurricanes.