A/P Practice

Beyond the Survey: Understanding and Defying the Colonial History of Visuality in Architecture Practices

7–26 August 2023

Medium
Mixed media, photography, 3D-scanning, rendering, temporary installations

Location
Kammer der ZiviltechnikerInnen | ArchitektInnen und IngenieurInnen Oberösterreich und Salzburg

Teaching language(s)
English, (German & Italian also available)

What to bring
Laptop with mouse, camera or smartphone, personal work equipment

Requirements
Basic knowledge of 3d modeling, rendering, and imaging processing platforms is a plus but optional; willingness to work collaboratively

Maximum number of participants
20

Participation fee
€ 860,– (reduced € 620,–)

This course will examine the complex relationship between architecture and visual culture, reflecting on how the technologies we use to see and experience the built environment define how we construct it. Starting from a critical reading of the history of asymmetrical power structures articulated through technologies of vision, we will focus on surveying as a generative act of design, rather than a passive representation of reality, connecting existing site conditions with deliberate (often hidden) design choices to reinforce or defy established hierarchies.

Borrowing from visual theory and contemporary contributions to post- and de-colonial theory and practice, we will problematise the hierarchical structures often built between observing subjects and observed bodies. Working between 3D scanned and physical models, we will embed traces of our own bodies in the city's public space as a series of mixed-media temporary installations: a collaborative mapping experiment at the intersection of new media, design, and art in urban space. With technical tutorials and one-on-one consultations, students will acquire first-hand experience with 3D scanning technologies and will enhance their ability to incorporate this technique in their creative workflow. Then, working in smaller groups, students will develop temporary installations connecting physical and digital content.

What is at stake is a critical reframing of contemporary imaging technologies in an effort to acknowledge their biased mechanics and to develop design sensibilities to work with them inclusively.