Architectural Design V-IX: Patnaul - A Place is a Place because of the Difference to another Place

Abstract

In the Fall Semester 2020 we would like to examine the most important elements in creating a strong sense of place. We design architecture in selected locations in a landscape, aiming to create a house that both reflects today's knowledge and the features and conditions unique to its location.

Objective

Architecture requires a fine perception of what already exists and a courageous design for what is to come. As a basic prerequisite for both moments, we consider a sustainable attitude to be developed from the lifeworld collective. The aim of the course is to strengthen the sensitivity for such an attitude. At the same time the skills should be learned to make this attitude effective. Dealing with the immediate reality of construction and material plays a key role here.

Content

Places are shaped by people, but places also shape people. The shaping of a location is not always mutual. As a person, it is difficult to escape the impact of a unique place. People used to spend most of their lives in the same place. Today, changing locations has become the norm. The question of appropriation of a place arises again and again. The proximity and the distance to a place and its realities are measured at the level of the individual. The choice of a place to live, and therefore the choice of social and political structures. means freedom for many people. In a crisis, as well as in certain phases of life, people often prefer a place that gives them a firm footing, security and stability. In these moments, paradoxically, a commitment to place can entail greater freedom. Movements in space change places. The loose associations created by this movement leads many spaces to resemble each other. Places are shaped more through the adoption of universal images than through the interrelationships between people and local realities. The uniqueness of a place and thus the difference to other places is weakened. Change and the desire to move around are human needs. People are fascinated by unique places. We examine the characteristics that shape these unique places. What is the relationship of the individual to the universal? How much freedom can an individual claim for themselves without affecting the freedom of the other? And how autonomous should and may a building be so that it can enter into a contextual relationship? During the semester, we will try to provide an answer to these and other questions that are important for the unique place - exclusively with the means of architecture. Full Program: caminada.arch.ethz.ch

Resources