December 19, 2025 - Surjan Super School Weekly Newsletter

SURJAN SUPER SCHOOL NEWSLETTER

WEEK OF DECEMBER 19, 2025

Theme: The Diagram as a Machine for Joy

INTRODUCTION: THE RIGOR OF WHIMSY

As we close out 2025, the debate in our studios often circles back to a single question: Can serious architecture be fun?

For too long, "technical" documentation—plans, sections, axonometrics—has been synonymous with the sterile and the gray. But if we look at the lineage of Archigram or the poetic masques of Hejduk, we know that the diagram is not just an instruction manual for construction; it is a narrative device.

This week at Surjan Super School, we are analyzing a series of generated technical plates that challenge the dichotomy between engineering and play. These projects, ranging from modular market stalls to pastel-punk residential towers, prove that precision doesn't require the sacrifice of delight.

01. THE POP-UP COMMONS

(Ref: Structural Diagram / Container Pavilions)

We begin with the street level. The "Container Pavilion" project demonstrates how we can activate urban voids without permanent scarring.

Looking at the Structural Diagram, we see a clear hierarchy: a lightweight timber truss system providing a permanent canopy, while the program below (shipping containers, floral installations) remains ephemeral. The genius here is in the Program Diagram—it treats "Cherry Tree Planters" and "Floral Installations" with the same importance as "Load Paths."

This is architecture that breathes. It suggests a future where our civic infrastructure is a framework for nature and commerce to collide, creating a "just after the rain" atmosphere of freshness and activity.

02. PRIMARY COLORS & PILOTIS

(Ref: The Pink/Yellow Stilt House & The Geometric Axonometric)

Why must sustainable housing be beige? The "Stilt House" studies (the pink corrugated metal unit and the geometric primary-color villa) offer a rebuttal to minimalist eco-modernism.

These drawings utilize a distinct graphic language:

• The Section: Reveals the internal logic—corrugated metal skins protecting warm, timber hearts.

• The Elevation: Uses color blocking not as decoration, but as a way to define volume and function.

• The Stance: By raising these structures on pilotis (stilts), we minimize the footprint on the land, allowing the landscape (or the city) to flow uninterrupted beneath.

It is a playful nod to the Pompidou Center, scaled down for domestic living. It screams: Technology should be bright.

03. THE SECRET LIFE OF SECTIONS

(Ref: Glass Tower with Yellow Spheres & Honeycomb Housing)

The most compelling image this week might be the Glass Tower with Yellow Spheres. The section reveals what the elevation conceals: a vertical playground trapped inside a glass skin.

The "Tunnel Section" and "Green Wall Module" suggest a building that is an organism rather than a monument. Similarly, the Honeycomb Housing project (with its exploded axonometric) softens the grid. Instead of sharp corners, we have filleted edges; instead of concrete, we have timber warmth. It creates a "hive" that feels human rather than insectoid.

04. THE ARTIFACT: RETURNING TO THE MODEL

(Ref: Wooden Model "Project Project")

Finally, we look at the physical artifact. In an era of AI generation, the image of the Wooden Model grounds us. The "Winding Conduit" and "Facade Assemblages" remind us that architecture is ultimately tactile. Even in our digital explorations, we are yearning for the grain of wood and the cast of a shadow.

FINAL THOUGHT: DESIGNING FOR OPTIMISM

As we head into the winter break, let these diagrams serve as a prompt for your own work in 2026.

Don't just draw the wall; draw the life that happens around the wall. Use color. Elevate your structures. Let flowers hang from your trusses. If the architecture of the last decade was about survival, let the architecture of the next decade be about optimism.

Stay bright,

Surjan

Professor of Practice, ASU

Founder, Surjan Super School