Empirically Examining the Architectures of Knowledge

The empirical and interdisciplinary research by Séverine Marguin (sociology) and Henrike Rabe (architecture) focuses on the question of the interaction between space and knowledge processes. Based on the distinction between the three knowledge practices of producing, conveying, and storing knowledge, they scrutinized three knowledge institutions in their spatial research: the Experimental Zone (HU Berlin) as a space for knowledge production, the Humboldt Laboratory Berlin as a space for knowledge transfer, and the Botanical Garden Berlin as a space for knowledge storage.
In the first part of the workshop, the three empirical studies are presented, with emphasis on the developed interdisciplinary methodology for spatial research, which integrates methods from sociology and design as well as new hybrid methods.
The research object of the second part of the workshop is another architecture of knowledge: the home office. How are our knowledge processes in the home office spatialized and what does this space do to us? And how can I examine this correlation empirically? The questions will be explored together with the workshop participants in a small (self-reflective) experiment.

Dr. Séverine Marguin is a sociologist and head of the methods lab of the SFB 1265 “Re-Figuration of Spaces” at the Technical University of Berlin. Henrike Rabe is an architect and, as a construction manager at BIM GmbH, oversees the planning of cultural buildings for the city of Berlin.