Storytelling in Architecture: Heroines and Heroes

Abstract

People have always been fascinated by myths, they live with stories and want to feel emotionally involved. With stories we win the hearts and minds of those who are not already our friends.Nobel Prize winner Robert J Shiller says stories drive economic events, Pritzker Prize winner BV Doshi says architecture is storytelling. But what is a story?

Objective

The course’s aim is to teach students how to identify and design arguments introduced through a narrative, inviting a wider audience to respond and interact with their ideas. Students will write their own short story based on two images they are being given. The stories will be discussed and revisited throughout the seminars. –If you really want to sell your idea, your story better be good.

Content

It all begins with the Greek philosopher Aristotle and his Poetics, who says that plot and mythos are the most important elements of drama, more important even than character! The events of any plot should always causally relate, in a necessary and/or plausible manner. Most importantly it has to evoke emotions. Students will gain insights into the history and theory of film, with a focus on different methods of storytelling. Together we will think about the various relationships between subjects, human and nonhuman, and discuss ways of translating architectural knowledge into time-based media. Therefore, students will construct narratives that directly communicate architectural, social, and political concepts in the context of a wider argument. The course will be structured through input-lectures with accompanying discussions about the students' stories, aimed at developing individual perspectives on the course topic. These reflections will include economic, political and philosophical aspects.

Resources