CONTENT AND EXPRESSION IN LATE XXTH CENTURY ARCHITECTURAL MONOGRAPHS
CORNELL UNIVERSITY - AAP JULIAN VARAS
ARCH 450
FORMS OF ENCOUNTER CONTENT AND EXPRESSION IN LATE XXTH CENTURY ARCHITECTURAL MONOGRAPHIES Course Instructor: Julián Varas Guests and consultants: Paul Soullelis, Susan Lewis, Lluis Ortega, Joaquim Moreno
While architecture’s declared raison d’être –to influence how we live by altering the built environment- is seemingly fulfilled through its involvement with the processes of material production, its actual efficacy as a tool of cultural change has always depended on its capacity to expand its effects beyond the sphere of its immediate physical surroundings. Although the becoming media of architecture is in fact coextensive with its rationalization –in antiquityinto a discipline that accumulates and transmits knowledge through graphic representations, during the last century its central mechanisms were shaken and transformed beyond recognition. The impact of reproduction technologies on the perception and the production of the artwork were acutely signalled by Walter Benjamin, who pinpointed the crisis of the notion of originality in art as its most significant effect. For the arts and sciences the relentless expansion of storage, retrieval and reproduction technologies has implied thereafter the need to enlarge the scope of their agency. More than ever before, the architects of the modern period were forced to operate beyond the production of built structures, becoming agents of cultural agitation through the dissemination of their work. Based on an interest in the relationships between the forces that articulate architectural organization and those that shape the processes of their spreading and consumption, this research seminar will investigate resonances, parallelisms and (dis)continuities between architectural and graphic space, between a represented object and an object of representation: encounters between forms of content and forms of expression. During the first phase, the course will diagram various aspects from a selection of late 20th century architectural publications. On a further stage, these diagrams will be utilized on the production of an individual piece by each student. While to some extent the course will be instrumental in augmenting participants’ repertoire of the conceptual strategies embedded in the production of printed matter, the seminar will foreground the development of research methodologies in conjunction with a consistent graphic space that simultaneously contains and informs the research process. During the first phase, the research projects will be conducted in teams of two students each. The second stage will involve individual work by each student, who will be expected to submit a digital and a hardcopy version of their work, encompassing both the analysis and the emerging graphic piece. Proficiency with Adobe Illustrator and InDesign is desirable but not mandatory. The course is open to 4th and 5th year architecture students, as well graduate students from MArch I and MArch II programs. Maximum 14 students. Three credits in Visual Representation. Meeting times: Mondays 10:00 – 11:30 / First meeting Monday., August 28th, 10:00 am. Room 120 Rand Hall.
ARCH 450
FORMS OF ENCOUNTER CONTENT AND EXPRESSION IN LATE XXTH CENTURY ARCHITECTURAL MONOGRAPHIES Course Instructor: Julián Varas
OBJECT The thematic scope of the course encompasses a selection of seminal architectural monographies of the last 30 years. These are charcterized not just by their focus on a narrowly defined field of production but by the fact that they were edited by the architects themselves. It is our hope that the investigation of these materials will shed light on the ways in which the editors sought to conceptualize their work.
FRAMEWORK To layout the theoretical basis for the analysis, we will discuss two short texts: Bob Somol’s “The Diagrammatic Basis of Contemporary Architecture”, Walter Benjamin’s “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” General course “Guru”: Eduard Tufte. See all of his books + website.
SUGGESTED CASE STUDIES Peter Cook, Archigram (1972) Peter Eisenman, Houses of Cards (1987) Diller & Scofidio, Flesh (1994) UN Studio, Move (1999) MVRDV, Costa Iberica (1999) FOA, Phylogenesis (2003)
SUBMISSION (due December 15th) Piece A: One chapter to be included in a common research report. Focus on research and communication. Presentation standards will be given out. Teams will divide amongst their members the tasks of analysis, reading, scanning, documenting and mapping the chosen publication. Piece B: A Diagram and a model of a small piece, based on a selection of own material. Emphasis on the design of table of contents, and on its relationship with the master pages (number, layout, etc). It is highly recommended that the piece remains within a manageable size / complexity. The model of the piece needs to be finished, even if some of the component materials are left as placeholders.
SUPPORT Technical support will be available from JV as deeemed necessary. This includes software tutorials, writing and diaramming discussions, and printing & production orientation.
OTHER SOURCES Peter Wilbur and Michael Burke, Information Graphics: Innovative Solutions in Contemporary Design (London: Thames and Hudson), 1998. Robert L. Harris, Information Graphics: A Comprehensive Illustrated Reference. Visual Tools for Analyzing, Managing and Communicating. (Atlanta: Management Graphics), 1996. Edward Tufte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information, 1997.
TEAM PROCEDURES Hands on, independent, but coordinated research (emphasis on production, rather than pure reading) While the construction of a body of knowledge requires coordinated output, at the same time the course is a framework to develop students’ own work. The class work will consist of (2x) 20-30 minute presentations by teams, followed by discussion. Powerpoint based on own scans (optional: prints). Please avoid photocopies. Extra tutorials will be offered to teams on dates of mutual convenicence. At least two per team.
Research topics and documentation guide: This is a non exhaustive list of topics that should be investigated & diagrammed. Some graphic standards will be provided, others will be developed by the class. Please, scan all the necessary sample pages from each book (good quality, 300 dpi) and include them in your presentations. PHOTOGRAPH THE BOOKS. Both closed and open, holding them in your hands, and resting on neutral backgrounds, avoid sharp shadows. (Use natural light). A. Format Materiality: Paper, Size, Orientation (horizontal, vertical, square), N. of pages, weight, etc. Cover / Backcover design Table of Contents / Sections / “buildup” (dissection) Master pages Text formatting & Title styles. Margins Captions B. Content (Materials) Property (own / hybrid) Media Text (own) Text (guest) Text / image ratio (s) What types of unusual or unique information is included in the book (i.e.: techincal project information, development timelines, copyrights, project credits, etc.)? C. Context / Influence Year. Who is the publisher? Who is the designer? Who is the editor? Other publications –contemporary- “in dialog with” your own: lines of rupture and lines of continuity (to be represent with a timeline) Later publications and practices that can be said to have been influenced by your object of study. Major cultural & architectonic events addressed directly or indirectly by the publication in question. D. Tone Velocity (define & measure) Continuity / Discontinuity (define & measure) Variation Markers and repetitive elements “Mapped” reading
CORNELL UNIVERSITY College of Architecture, Art & Planning Academic Calendar Fall Semester 2006 Julian Varas
ARCH 450 - FORMS OF ENCOUNTER
AUGUST
Week 1 Wed
23
Thu
24
Fri
25
02:00
Course presentation
Week 2 29
Wed
30
Thu
31
Fri
1
Week 3 Mon
4
Tue
5
Wed
6
Thu
7
Fri
8
10:00
Session 1: Introduction and Organization Course overview - Calendar handout - Team formation - Case studies - Research methodologies - Editorial process Bibliography: Eduard Tufte
PHASE 1
28
Tue
Framework
SEPTEMBER
Mon
10:00
Session 2: Framework The Diagrams of mediation: Dummy Text, or The Diagramatic Basis of Contemporary Architecture, Bob Somol
Week 4 Mon
11
Tue
12
Wed
13
Thu
14
Fri
15
10:00
Session 3: Framework The Diagrams of mediation: The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Walter Benjamin
Week 5 Mon
18
Tue
19
Wed
20
Thu
21
Fri
10:00
Session 4: Team 1 research report
►
Grids: P. Eisenman - Houses of Cards (1987)
22
►
Peter Cook: Archigram (1972)
Mon
25
10:00
Tue
26
Wed
27
Thu
28
- material licuefaction
Fri
29
Lecture Joaquim Moreno (tbc)
- material segregation
Week 6
Mon
2
Tue
3
Wed Thu
4 5
Fri
6
Week 8 Mon
9
Tue
10
Wed
11
Thu
12
Fri Sat
13 14
PHASE 2
Week 7 OCTOBER
Week 9 Mon
16 17
Wed
18 19
Fri
Documentation, data collection and diagramming
►
10:00
►
Session 5: Team 2 research report Diller & Scofidio: Flesh (1994)
Session 6: Team 3 research report UNStudio: Move (1999) - virtualising practice: topical analisys
FALL BREAK
10:00
►
Session 7: Team 4 research report MVRDV: Costa Iberica (1999) - reporting research
Lecture Paul Soulellis (tbc)
20
Week 10 Mon
23
Tue
24
Wed
25
Thu
26
Fri
27
10:00
►
Session 8: Team 5 research report FOA: Phylogenesis (2003) - virtualising practice: populational analisys
NOVEMBER
30 31 1 2 3
Week 12 6 7 8
Thu
9
Fri
10
Week 13 Mon Tue Wed
13 14 15
Thu Fri
16 17
PHASE 3
Mon Tue Wed
Report production and presentation
Week 11 Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri
10:00
Session 9 Teams 1 + 2 : Pin-up
10:00
Session 10 Teams 3 + 4 : Pin-up
10:00
Session 11 Teams 5 + 6 : Pin-up
10:00
Session 12 General Pin-up (with Paul S.)
Week 14 Mon
20
Tue Wed
21 22
Thu Fri
23 24
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Week 15
DECEMBER
Mon Tue Wed
27 28 29
10:00
Thu
30
1st year FINAL REVIEWS
Fri
1
2nd year FINAL REVIEWS
Sat
2
3rd year FINAL REVIEWS
Mon
4
4th/5th year FINAL REVIEWS
Tue
5
March I FINAL REVIEWS
Wed Thu Fri
6 7 8
Thesis REVIEWS
Mon Tue Wed Thu
11 12 13 14
Study period Tutorial meetings by appointment
Fri
15
Reports are due