Exploring the Effects of Architecture

Drei Vortragende und eine moderierte Diskussion widmen sich der Frage „Wie wirkt eigentlich Architektur?“. HANNAH LE ROUX (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg), KENNY CUPERS (Universität Basel) und Daniel M. Abramson, Pamela Karimi, Laila Seewang und Meredith TenHoor für das AGGREGATE ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY COLLABORATIVE stellen Ihre Perspektiven auf die Ordnungsmacht gebauter Architektur vor. Der Abend lädt somit ein, einen Blickwinkel einzunehmen, bei dem Architekturschaffende aus- und Architekturerfahrende eingeblendet werden.

Kenny Cuper’s talk questions the extent to which disciplinary understandings of the effects of architecture can be decoupled from questions of intentionality, or the conviction that a specific outcome can be designed. Focusing on imperial Germany, his talk traces how the social engineering ambitions of modern architecture emerged from a context in which living landscapes were objectified and recognized as a limited planetary resource.

Hannah Le Roux’ talk tests Shearing theory against models in African cities which experience different trajectories of change, sometimes more subtractive than additive. Shearing layers (Duffy, 1992 and Brand, 1994) is a term referring to the multiple layers of materials in buildings that have different temporal lifespans. It relates to strength and embodied energy where the shell or structure endure well beyond the skin, services and stuff. It remains a useful way to understand the persistence of structure as a part of the process of transformation (t)here as well, as an adjunct to social choreography which accompanies the process of appropriation.

Daniel M. Abramson, Pamela Karimi, Laila Seewang and Meredith TenHoor will represent the Aggregate Architectural History Collaborative, and will discuss four interlocking research agendas that have coalesced around Aggregate projects. In each, they will highlight methods and approaches to thinking about architectural effects via the lenses of agency, subjectivity, knowledge and bodily life.

Der öffentliche Vortragsabend bildet den Auftakt zum AO-internen Workshop Die Wirkungen von Architektur erforschen und wurde konzipiert von Leonie Plänkers, Nina Gribat, Pietro Cesari und Sina Brückner-Amin. Die Vorträge und Diskussion finden in englischer Sprache statt.

Ein Mitschnitt des Vortragsabends ist auf vimeo.com verfügbar.