Writing Architecture

Architects have used words to describe their buildings since antiquity, both in practical terms of spatial disposition and technical craft through to the emotive, ineffable qualities of architecture. Writers and critics employ words to describe the qualities of architecture that go beyond the tectonic assemblage and evoke the poetics of space. A language has developed over the centuries to describe much more than the physical nature of building. Yet, how can a non-architectural language become a language of architecture? How can a novel, for instance, be translated into a building? The studio will enable you to go beyond using language solely to describe your designs by teaching you a method that can turn any form of text into the language of architecture and subsequently, a design that is the physical construct of the words you choose to translate.
Through a non-linear process, working across multiple scales and with a variety of media, you will develop strong analytical skills and improved design dexterity to develop an architectural language specific to your text. Like the documentary maker, you will draw upon research and investigation to shape your building; you will follow a process that eliminates formal or aesthetic concerns to create an architecture whose final assemblage comes as a surprise to the designer – an embodiment of the text you began with.