Framing indeterminacy: Pedagogical journey into experimental architectural thinking

Aleksandra Raonic*, Claudia Westermann

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

This paper presents and discusses award-winning design studio outcomes developed in response to a studio brief linked to the Fun Palace Futures initiative of the Royal British Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in honour of architect Cedric Price and artist Joan Littlewood. How could the thoughts that guided the development and design of the Fun Palace – a project that was never built but is still today cited as a model for thinking flexible and open architecture – be re-interpreted and renewed for the future?

The paper argues that the use of a variety of media beyond the conventional architectural pallet, and the introduction of media shifts are crucial in assisting the students in developing their own tools for creating a new kind of open and flexible architecture. We show that the conditions of indeterminacy, uncertainty, chance and change, hold potential for framing the design and creation of a new kind of dynamic architecture, and for initiating experimental architectural thinking in a design studio setting.

The design studio brief and two of the studio projects received the highest national awards available in Chinese architectural education – an Outstanding Coursework and Outstanding Studio Brief award. Writing the article was a way to gain a better understanding of why the particular approach to design education was so successful.


Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)137-151
Number of pages15
JournalTechnoetic Arts
Volume16
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2018

Keywords

  • Architectural pedagogy
  • Exchange
  • Experimentation
  • Indeterminacy
  • Media shifts
  • New architecture for
  • Participation and
  • Re-translations
  • Translations and

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