Materiality & Construction – 5 Positions in Contemporary Swiss Architecture

Materiality & Construction – 5 Positions in Contemporary Swiss Architecture International Symposium Co-Conveners Ole W. Fischer & Elli Mosayebi Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Gund Hall, Piper Auditorium 48 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA Saturday, November 14th 2009, 10am – 6pm Even within a global world there persist local forms of knowledge and practices that lead to differentiation. This may seem obvious, yet what does this mean for the theory and practice of architecture? Like the fine arts, architecture shows a long record of supranational periodization. And with the prevalence of modern architecture the discipline became a true agent of Western culture on a global scale. On the other hand local agents including the networks of clients, as well as legal, technologic and economic factors, combined with the collaboration of builders and craftsmen, shape local specificities which are enhanced by the dominance of certain “ideas” or “topics”, such as “construction” and “materiality” in the case of contemporary Swiss architecture. Today with the dissolution of national boarders (within Western societies) and the emergence of a global market for architectural design, we would like to re-address the ideological framework of the „National,“ challenging what terms such as „Swiss“ or „American“ mean with respect to (the discipline of) architecture and the built work. How are these preconceived notions of National differences related to architectural thinking? – From our observations there are alternative ways to pose an architectural “question” or “theme” that precede the actual design work and building production, something like an (implicit) idea of architectural action. In this case it would be possible to identify different “theories of practice” (similar to Le Corbusier’s “l’art de produire”). As an example, the emphasis on construction, materiality and sensual effect differs from diagrammatic and parametric design methods. Both result in alternating concepts for teach ing and research. In order to challenge this working hypothesis on various “theories of practice” and their relation to the contested terrain of the “National” we bring together practitioners and educators from Switzerland (ETH, EPFL) and the US (Harvard GSD/MIT) to open a dialogue on parallels and differences of the production, reflection and education of architecture: Speakers: • Dieter Dietz (UNDEND / EPF Lausanne) • Harry Gugger (Herzog & de Meuron / EPF Lausanne) • Inès Lamunière (dl-a / EPF Lausanne) • Daniel Niggli (EM2N / ETH Zurich) • Marcel Meili (Meili Peter Architects / ETH Zurich Studio Basel) Respondents: • Danieller Etzler (SHoP Architects NYC / Harvard GSD) • Mark Jarzombek (MIT HTC) • Michael Meredith (MOS / Harvard GSD) • Ingeborg Rocker (Rocker-Lange Architects / Harvard GSD) • A. Hashim Sarkis (Hashim Sarkis / Harvard GSD) Organization, Introduction and Moderation: Elli Mosayebi (EMI / ETH Zurich) & Ole W. Fischer (O.W. Fischer / Harvard GSD/RISD) Free and open to the public! RSVP: [email protected] Thanks to the support of the ProHelvetia Foundation Bern, Swissnex Boston, and to Harvard GSD, Harvard European Design Circle and GSD Culture Club. www.gsd.harvard.edu/events/index.html