Background
- Modern architecture was originally conceived according to the Hegelian dialectical model of: thesis, counter thesis, synthesis. What has been realized over the course of the last century that the synthesis contained too much ideality, the very same ideality that the modern was supposed to overcome.
- More recently, it has been realized that this dialectic also contained a priority for the use of first terms such as in: up/down, white/black, in/out, good/bad, a condition which contemporary philosophical thinkers have attempted to make equal. Enter the diptych. The diptych is a painterly term which while dealing with two parts, does not prioritize either part. It has been thought that attempting to produce a diptych, in architectural terms, would resist this prejudice in dialectical terms. This is the philosophic and ideological background for the studio, to overcome both hierarchy and ideality in architecture.
- First theoretical presentation: the diptych in painting.
- Second theoretical presentation: Deconstruction and the diptych.
- Final theoretical presentation: To use the concept of the diptych (which in painting is usually non-hierarchical) as a way of producing a non-hierarchical dialectic in an architectural project.
Project
Students are asked to produce a project that has two complementary components in which one is “iconic” and the other “multi-use”—either residential or commercial—whereby the combination produces two adjacent buildings or one multi-purpose building.
Studio Structure
Studio will consist of either 4, 5, or 6 teams of two students to produce a final design project in the spirit of a well-known architect. The idea being that the students will study a strong design discourse already formed and mature. The studio is about learning what constitutes a strong design discourse.
Site
The site will be an existing, available site somewhere in the central urban context of Los Angeles, California.
Trip
It will begin on Monday, 26 September 2022 and 9:00 am and end 30 September. (Estimated flight to LA departs on 24 September 2022 and returns on 2 October 2022).
Instruction
The studio will meet on Mondays with Daisy Ames at 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm and Thursdays 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm in-person and via zoom with Peter Eisenman and Frank Gehry.