Architectural Ethnography

August 26–September 1, 2018

The Japan Pavilion of this year’s Architecture Biennale showcases a collection of drawings of forty-two works from all over the world from the last twenty years, ranging from design specifications and spatial activity charts, to maps of urban hybrids and large studies of rural farming and fishing villages following natural disasters, originating from university design studios, architectural offices, or artistic practices. They reflect the search for a new approach toward society, which the curators Momoyo Kaijima, Laurent Stalder, and Yu Iseki have termed “Architectural Ethnography.”

Yet, the exhibited drawings are not simply the instructions of a coming building, for the reason that they are above all instruments to document, discuss, and evaluate architecture in a critical feedback-loop. Moreover, as in ethnography, they allow usages, needs, and aspirations to be investigated through the lens of the various actors—both human and non-human. These drawings underpin a common approach in the design of individualized yet shared environments in today’s globalized society.

The summer school aims at introducing architecture students to “Architectural Ethnography.” The collective production of “public drawings” will provide students with the foundations of the related research methodology, drawing techniques, and conceptual frameworks. The research topic will be the Biennale itself: the behavior of visitors in the spaces of the Giardini della Biennale, the actor-network relations that gravitate around the Pavilions or the use that the Biennale makes of public space in Venice. The drawings will be exhibited in the Japan Pavilion.


Instructors:

Momoyo Kaijima (ETH Zurich/ University of Tsukuba)
Laurent Stalder (ETH Zurich)
Kazuyoshi Watari (University of Tsukuba)
Andrew Wilson (University of Queensland)

Students: 10 from ETH Zurich, 10 from University of Queensland, 15 from University of Tsukuba

Program:

Sunday, August 26: Arrival in Venice
Monday, August 27: Architectural Tour of Venice
Tuesday, August 28: Introduction to and Beginning of the Research
Wednesday, August 29: 1st Review
Thursday, August 30: Research & Drawing
Friday, August 31: Research & Drawing
Saturday, September 1: Final Review & Departure from Venice

Assignment: One public drawing as well as a short research report (10 pages)
Credits: 4 ECTS (“Vertiefungsarbeit” at the Chair of Laurent Stalder)
Finances: The summer school is tuition free. Travel and lodging will be covered

Application: 

Please apply until June 15, 2018, by sending 1 single PDF combining the following documents to :

- Letter of Motivation (one A4 page)
- Short Portfolio of 1 or 2 works (including hand drawing samples)
- CV