introduction
This paper is a chance to reflect on two design-build projects that were built by students in 2010and 2011 as part of their architectural studies.Each shelter, one built in wood and the other in masonry, is based on a different historical structuraltechnique not currently widely used. Each is a vaulting technique, wood lamella and masonrytimbrel, and appears to be viable today. Perhaps reconsidering them using current technology couldlead to their reintroduction. This turns out to be a possibility as several other projects using the techniques are discovered during the course of design and construction.The projects are large with real clients in order to test their viability andto push our design buildprojects from the idealized research prototype into the realm of full-scale application. Each techniqueis adapted it to a northern coastal climate and each is tested by using minimal materials and bymonitoring its behaviour over time. There is an important teaching by-product. Any project placed inthe context of research agenda develops an important pedagogical intent that enhances the standarddesign-build mantra of “learning by doing” to an augmented design-build intent of “learning byexperimenting.” Coincidently, it moves the design-build studio into a subject for diffusion research,the topic of this conference