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| Building a Studio Outcome: August 2004. To date we are mid-way through the design process and the final output is not expected until the third week of the new academic year. But through the seminar sessions, site visit and interim crit a number of the implicit challenges of the project were encountered. The seminar sessions involved readings, discussions and occasional assignments. The material covered in these meetings relate to art, architecture, philosophy, fiction and various theoretical disciplines. This diversity was intended to expose the group to the various modalities of solitary dwelling in isolated locations. There was a strong philosophical dimension; in particular writings that extolled some type of thought imperative that is only possible living in isolation. These extended from the heroic (e.g. Nietzsche) to the ascetic (e.g. the desert fathers). A parallel tract was also engaged during these sessions, which looked into the intentionality of architecture in various contexts. We discussed the effect and affect of building as an architect, artist or as a non-professional. In this light the reductive means of huts and other light, transitory or temporary buildings were considered as models. This line of thinking brought us to the terminus of architecture and the question of what architecture is or where it begins. This provided a useful basis to consider the extent of the brief and its non-requirement that the final outcome need not be a proposed building. The site visit served to relate the real situation to the conceptualisation inherent in the seminars. The practical aspects of moving about on snow (using skis and snow shoes), having to collect water from the well, maintaining fires for heat and cooking all contributed to an understanding of what was alluded to in the readings on remote dwelling. The actualisation of the place elicited a variety of responses from the group regarding the possibility of dwelling in such a manner and environment. This should usefully inform the final output. Once back in Edinburgh, and re-engaged in the studio aspects of the project, the possibilities of working as a group became acute. Through the seminars the group was led to consider a variety of collaborative creative practices. The notion of collaboration, and its possible forms, became a topic of discussion in order to focus the methodology of the group. Throughout this project, the position of the individual within the group has been recurrent. It has been suggested to the group that they allow themselves to function with two distinct cells split between the predominant language groups (English & Japanese). This dynamic of having a Japanese speaking unit and an English one will give an expediency to communication in its parts but would still require a means of coming together on a regular basis to integrate their respective research. Next Stage: From here the students appreciate that they need to have their collaborative methodology functioning as a matter of priority. They have identified and articulated areas of personal interest which will inform the next stages of their collaborative process. |
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| Workshops | Participants | Background | Site |
Outcome |
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Takahiro Iwasaki
site indexing project
site indexing project