Alex Beam of Architecture Boston visited the freshmen studio this summer and wrote about the work in his regular monthly column, A Matter of Course.

For the article, Contingencies of Design Northeastern University, Beam made several visits to Ruggles Studio to see the work of the ARCH1120 Fundamental Design Studio evolve. The students had to design a 2,500-square-foot house on a quarter-acre lot in a hypothetical residential development. After the initial designs were explored, the professor, John Davis, threw them a curve ball by changing the project specifications. The challenge to students letting go of the work they had done in order to meet the new mandate while maintaining the strengths of their design. Having the students make major changes mid-course like this will enable them have the flexibility they will need to be creative and effective designers.

Download the PDF of the article here.