Architectural Design V-IX: (In) Consistency (A.Theriot)

Abstract

We aim to seize economic requirements to transform constraints into levers, producers of qualities. These may well be tangible or intangible, prosaic or poetic, constant or unstable, general or occasional... As long as they are initiated by the economy and located far from any rationality. Creating generosity, “excesses” that make the strength and uniqueness of a place.

Objective

The semester will unfold in three chapters: CHAP 1: MYTHOLOGY CHAP 2: FINDING FREEDOMS CHAP 3: BINDING FRAGMENTS INTEGRATED WORKSHOPS: - Mathis Pfäffli (artist) - Bertran Suris (Motion Design) - Jacqueline Pauli (Structure) - Gontran Dufour (Facade and envelope) + Lecture series (Emanuele Coccia / Sub.global ...)

Content

For architecture to endure, it has to change. Yes, but if they were to change too quickly, they would simply be following fashion. And fashion is what goes out of fashion. Fashion is the world of futility and the ephemeral. Fashion is inconsistency. But are we really so sure? Because fashion is also what is remembered and spread to other areas. Fashion is also a place for innovation, for questioning social and physical norms. When fashion goes beyond fashion, it becomes a democratic asset. Fashion is also a spatial spectacle. On the face of it, ephemeral and expensive fashion shows are the antithesis of architecture. They are simply tools of communication and commerce, with a very limited lifespan. But paradoxically, architecture can learn from these happenings. Such events sometimes seem like happy mirages, where architectural materials and textiles produce stimulating formal echoes for a few minutes and then evaporate. This bubble of pure artifice also plays on the memories of its spectators. While the physical trace of the show may only last a very short time, its impressions can linger for a long time. So it's not all that inconsistent. Our work seeks to bring together these two seemingly antagonistic visions: between the firmness and permanence of permanent architecture and the fairy-tale, experimental nature of fashion shows. Without copying fashion, architecture can draw inspiration from the speed with which it spreads, its capacity for transformation and its awareness that it is only a temporary phenomenon. By moving towards greater lightness, it could find new consistencies through the use of light, modular, inflatable and even biodegradable elements. The fragility of ephemeral architecture is only apparent. Experimenting with such devices allows us to gain maximum scale with the least amount of material. Here we return to the textile origins of architecture: huts, tents, blankets. By unburdening itself, architecture (re)finds its fundamental consistency. We can recall the words of the philosopher Emanuele Coccia, who said that ‘the world has the consistency of an atmosphere’, a framework that is both encompassing and threatened. This consistency must be defended in a world of perpetual instability, without taking refuge in the strategy of firmness at all costs. This consistency can be as solid as it is volatile. We must not consider the logics as established, but rather imagine that they respond to each other in a more organic way. Each project is part of an ecosystem, and we have to take account of its atmospheric and even intangible nature. In this way, we continue to respond to a fundamental paradox of architecture: while buildings must be solid, they always carry with them an imperative for movement and transformation. It is by evolving that architecture gains in consistency.

Resources