"But if by digressions, we can reach new truth, what harm is there in making one now, so that we may not lose this knowledge, remembering also that we are not tied down to a fixed and brief method but that we meet solely for our own entertainment? Indeed, who knows but that we may thus frequently discover something more interesting and beautiful than the solution originally sought?"
-- Galileo
"Science is the poetry of the intellect and poetry the science of the heart's affections."
-- Lawrence Durrell
Education
The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.) is dedicated to the exploration of architectural possibilities through making, experimentation, invention and discovery. Here, led by a form of serious play and the "digressions" so essential to the process of architectural thought and design, structural and technical investigations are carried out in the spirit of poetic invention.
Our work is rooted in physical play with materials and forces. Our methods of approach are sometimes those of sculpture and other abstract arts, sometimes those of builders, sometimes those of science and engineering -- in this way the disciplines of art, engineering, architecture, and construction are all called upon to bestow their separate gifts to the search for new ways of thinking, building and designing.
The 510 square meter (5,600 square foot) C.A.S.T. Building on the University of Manitoba campus, has been specially designed and built to facilitate and sustain this approach to education and research. It is located between the faculties of Architecture, Civil Engineering, and Biosystems Engineering, and is also close to the sculpture, ceramic, and painting studios of the School of Fine Arts. The CAST also hosts musical performances from visiting artists as well as students of the University of Manitoba’s School of Music.
Teaching Technology
The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.) institutes a new approach to teaching building technology where the study of design, building technology, materials, and construction are approached with a spirit of exploration. Physical and intellectual knowledge are joined here in hands-on experiment, constructions, and studies.
The design of the C.A.S.T. laboratory itself serves as a “living textbook” of technical knowledge; the building’s structural, electrical, and mechanical systems are all completely visible, facilitating on-site lectures and analysis projects, making it a three-dimensional resource for teaching building technology to both architecture and engineering students alike. Our goal is to augment conventional text book-based information with direct physical knowledge that our students can touch, see, experience and remember.
Studying At CAST
The Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology does not offer a specific program of study. CAST is a resource of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Architecture, and most students working at CAST are enrolled in one of the Departments of this Faculty. A few students doing work with us have been enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Engineering, while others have worked here as visitors from other universities. Work and study at CAST is done either through workshop classes offered by the Faculty of Architecture, research thesis projects in the Department of Architecture, or by special research teams engaged in specific projects. Funding is sometimes available for graduate research assistants enrolled in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Architecture. Occasionally, when the opportunity arises, the Laboratory will host a CAST Visiting Researcher as well.
