LECTURE SERIES

Compromise

Generally speaking, compromise is understood not as a necessary evil but instead as a productive force. That holds true for a variety of domains ranging from public politics to personal relationships. Architecture seems to be an exception to that rule. Compromise in architecture is perceived as a loss, a weakness, a watering-down of any strong architectural manifestation or position. Compromise is a taboo as it compromises architecture. For a discipline deeply entangled in politics, material as well as labour economies and driven by
a multitude of personal and professional relationships this perception seems surprising to say the least. Taking as a starting point the positive meaning of “shared commitment“ that its Latin root implies the lecture series seeks to question what role compromise can play as a productive force in practicing architecture.

As a starting point we are raising the following questions:
_ Can it help shape a unified architectural vision after the heroic author has been replaced by the collective effort?
_ Can it become a source for architectural exploration once design labour is no longer understood as an unlimited resource?
_ Will it ensure that design integrity survives the cacophony and unpredictability of public as well as political opinion?
_ Can it help reconcile our design ambition of creating something new and the realisation that we have to work with what is already there due to the finitude of material resources?

BACHELOR

Design Studio: Raum

The studio Raum begins by inviting students to rediscover their everyday routines and their everyday environment as interlocking actions and experiences of making space and appropriating space. The seemingly familiar disappears in favor of again-to-be-discovered and redesigned spaces of possibility. Routiniers become discoverers and designers of the surprising in everyday life.

With mandatory excursion
Appointment: Mo-Fr, 02:00 PM–05:30 PM, R127 (Building 11.40)
First meeting: Fri. 18.10.24, 02:00 PM, R127 (Building 11.40)
Excursion: 01. – 03.11.24
Submission/Exam: Wed, 12.02.25
Event type: Presence

Exercise: Grundlagen der Entwurfslehre / Gebäudeanalyse

As accompanying exercise to the lecture series «Grundlagen der Entwurfslehre» selected buildings are analysed. The aim of the exercise is to study concrete architectural buildings from different times under specific aspects such as spatial structure and functional structure and to present them with drawings and models.

Regular appointment: Wed, / 10:00 - 11:15 / 20.40 Grüne Grotte
First meeting: Wed, 23.10.2024 / 11:30 - 13:00 / 20.40 Fritz-Haller Hörsaal (HS37)
Submission/Exam: Wed, 15.01.25 - Wed, 22.01.25 - Wed, 29.01.25 / 10:00 - 11:15 / 20.40 Hörsaal 9

Seminar: KIT200

To celebrate KITs bicentenary in 2025, the institutes of the Faculty of Architecture have joined forces to mount a collective exhibition. The aim is to highlight the creatives interactions between the school and the city through the presentation of ten emblematic characters and projects. Karl Segl is one of these key figures. He established a planetary architecture and put forward a vision in which the city and its architecture are seen as segments of this planetary whole. His ‘Waldstadt’ project and the ‘Back-to-Back’ typologies provide an
important illustration of his approach which is particularly relevant in today ́s discourse. Participants will work as a team to conduct research and create visual representations thereof. They will constitute an important aspect of the exhibition. The output will be photographs, drawings and models, explaining the synergies that the project develops with its wider context.

This course is conducted mainly in English.

MASTER

Masterstudio: “S,M,L”

The single-family home is probably the most contested architectural trope of modern housing. Beloved by many as the built expression of personal ambition and loathed by others as proof of everything that has gone wrong architecturally and urbanistically. The criticism hints at problems on various scales: The inability of the single-family home to adjust to changing family constellations and demographic shifts is a principal culprit for the ever-growing spatial footprint which has reached an all-time high of 48 sqm per capita in Germany. The individual houses are embedded within a territory isolating the neighboring parties through strict legal and architectural borders while at the same time maximizing land use and minimizing biodiversity. The sprawl and almost surgical separation from all social infrastructures and places of work entails a complete reliance on automobile mobility. The studio will explore the potential to transform the existing suburban condition through strategic design interventions on the three above-mentioned scales. We will focus on one cluster of homes along “Waschbärenweg” in the largest conglomerate of single-family homes in Germany along the border of Berlin and Brandenburg. 

 Appointment: Thursdays
1st meeting: Thu, 24.10.24, 14:00
Submission/Examination: TBD
Number of participants: max. 25 students
Language: German / English
Excursion: Berlin

Seminar: KIT200

To celebrate KITs bicentenary in 2025, the institutes of the Faculty of Architecture have joined forces to mount a collective exhibition. The aim is to highlight the creatives interactions between the school and the city through the presentation of ten emblematic characters and projects. Karl Segl is one of these key figures. He established a planetary architecture and put forward a vision in which the city and its architecture are seen as segments of this planetary whole. His ‘Waldstadt’ project and the ‘Back-to-Back’ typologies provide an
important illustration of his approach which is particularly relevant in today ́s discourse. Participants will work as a team to conduct research and create visual representations thereof. They will constitute an important aspect of the exhibition. The output will be photographs, drawings and models, explaining the synergies that the project develops with its wider context.

This course is conducted mainly in English.