822151 Entwerfen M1

Sommersemester 2017 | Stand: 08.03.2017 LV auf Merkliste setzen
822151
Entwerfen M1
EP 6
10
wöch.
jährlich
Englisch

DO YOU AVANT-GARDE?

For the summer semester, the Master’s Studio at Architectural Theory will investigate the phenomenon of architectural avant-garde(s). Coming from the military field, in the 1820s the word “avant-garde” was applied for the first time to fine arts by Henri de Saint-Simon, who believed that artists had the responsibility (and the privilege) of introducing new ideas in society. From the early twentieth century on, avant-gardist movements emerged in the architectural field as well: they were characterized by a radical opposition against prevailing conditions, and intended to extend the boundaries of the discipline. Among these, one of the most interesting movements is the Austrian avant-garde of the 1960 and 1970s.  

Around the years 1967/68, architects (not just in Austria) started to change the scale of their projects, producing more temporary and individual installations, in which humans could experience their bodies in an unknown ways, thanks to the aid of the newest technologies and pharmaceuticals. This changed people’s relationship to one another as well as to their environment. In the case of the Austrian avant-garde, the body became the center of a radical rethinking of architecture, being assumed as the point of departure for the emancipation from suppressing conditions. In their projects, groups such as Haus-Rucker-co, Zünd Up, Domenig&Huth and Coop Himmelblau realized individuality and multiplicity, showing forms of self-displacement and endless becoming. The architects of that period were also affected by an enormous confidence in economic and technological progress, which ended with the oil crisis in 1973. At the same time, popular and youth culture gained a new status in addition to traditional high culture.

Nowadays, it is difficult to name architectural practices that are capable of questioning the main issues of their time while expanding the boundaries of the discipline in such a radical way. As a consequence, it is easy to jump to the conclusion that there seem to exist no more avant-garde architecture. But is it really so? This is the main question that the Studio “Do You Avant-Garde?” seeks to answer.

The Studio will be structured in two main parts, each organized in two thematic blocks:

The first part will be dedicated to the understanding of the Austrian avant-garde phenomenon, and of the meaning of the word “avant-garde”. During the first block the students will lead an in-depth study of a selection of exemplary projects coming from the Austrian avant-garde, with the aim of understanding the main topics and visions that characterized the movement between the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the reasons for such a seminal and fertile experience ended after 1973-75.

During the second block the meaning of the word “avant-garde” will be investigated by recurring to theoretical texts and case studies taken from twentieth century art and architecture, which will be analyzed and compared with the Austrian phenomenon. At the end of the first part, the students will be asked to produce a list of the recurrent conditions that define an architectural practice as avant-gardist.

The second part of the Studio will be dedicated to contemporary issues and architectural practices, in a comparison with the architectural avant-gardes from the 1960s and 1970s. During the third block the students will study some of the most relevant social, cultural and political questions of the current period - regarding gender, media, technology, body, urbanization and politics -, to which an avant-garde movement is expected to react.

During the fourth and last block, the students will use all the gathered knowledge to establish what current architecture practices can rightly be defined as avant-gardist – if there are any – according to their own understanding, and then analyze and describe them. The two underlying questions of this last phase of the Studio will be: How do the experiments of the 60s and 70s relate to experimental architecture today? How can these experiments still happen, in a time in which the global networks of media and mobility, as well as prostheses and transplants are almost natural, while popular culture is not suppressed, but has become a matter of course?

The outcome of the studio “Do You Avant-Garde?” will be a collection of books, an exhibition, a presentation, maybe a web platform, etc., using all potential skills for their realization. Of course, essential social, philosophical and cultural positions are reflected upon in the process. The studio is taught in English. Important learning goals and outcomes for the course beyond its central theme (understanding the meaning of the word “Avant-Garde” and looking for contemporary Avant-Gardes in architecture):

Learning to read and express oneself in English.
Learning to write and edit texts in English.
Learning to edit a book and a travelling exhibition.
“Learning to Learn”: learning from books, from lecturers and other students.
Learning to research on architectural design.
Acquisition of learning strategies and content in the context of the research of architectural theory and history.
Learning an effective use of the library(s) and archives. Learning important research techniques, also for archival research.
Writing texts, using pictures, making books, curating exhibitions, editing videos and designing websites on the basis of the investigated material.
Use of several presentation techniques in varied contexts and with different media: essay, short presentation with PowerPoint or Keynote, book, exhibition, website, video.
Teamwork: we usually work in teams of two students. The topics and presentations are structured in such a way that all teams can benefit from each other and the individual presentations are part of a larger whole or product.

Immanenter Prüfungscharakter und Anwesenheitspflicht.

Wird im Rahmen der ersten Lehrveranstaltung besprochen.

Informationen zur Anmeldung zu den Entwerfen-Lehrveranstaltungen finden Sie unter: http://www.uibk.ac.at/fakultaeten-servicestelle/standorte/technikerstrasse/studium.html

15.03.2017
Mi, 09:00-16:00 Uhr, Architekturtheorie - Studio