Architect, from Greek arkhi "chief" and tekton "builder, carpenter", refers us from its etymology, on the one hand, to the definition of the architect as “master builder” and, on the other, to architecture as a practice rooted on traditional wood construction. From both perspectives, the figure of the architect recalls that of a leader with the capacity and the technical knowledge required to integrate and coordinate the different disciplines involved in the construction of harmonic buildings. However, this tectonic model also implies an idea of space that emerges as result of assembling the discrete elements that constitute the building structure. From this point of view, the figure of the architect evokes, in addition, that of a “space builder” and, thus, the conceptualization and materialization of spaces with qualities stands at the core of the discipline. Accordingly, the building’s structure is not conceived in terms of purely functional optimization but, otherwise, as a material system that articulates and enhances the spatial concept. In this context, matter becomes the abstract instance that contains and distributes forces to the building supports but, also, a technical and cultural instance that unfolds multiple technologies and processes. Those include the use and reinterpretation of construction techniques grounded on the specific tradition of the cultural context in which they operate. Hence, the essential dialog established between space and structure ignites through the coherent articulation of material processes and the role of the architect builds upon the fundamental relationships between space, material, and structure.

The objective of the course “Elements: Space, Materials, Structure” taught at Rice School of Architecture is to establish a foundation to the technology sequence and more broadly to the curriculum at large through a fundamental understanding of the reciprocal relationships between space, material, and structure under a holistic approach. According to the two fundamental construction paradigms, tectonic and stereotomic, and their corresponding material expressions (steel, wood, stone, clay, textiles, concrete, or composites), the students explore structural principles and construction processes through the understanding of the static behavior of loadbearing building elements and their fundamental role in the definition of the architectural space. These experimental explorations are conceived and developed in the form of physical and digital models in order to understand structural and construction logics and their translation into material and cultural constructs as an integral part of the design process.