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Istanbul – a story of living +
This year studio 4 will investigate and explore new ideas of ‘Living’ and more.
...the plan should not have to do with an exploit or record, it would be neither a peak to scale nor an ocean floor to reach ... [it] would not be heroic, or spectacular; it would be something simple and discreet, difficult of course but not impossibly so, controlled from start to finish and conversely controlling every detail of the life of the man engaged upon it. A User's Manual by Georges Perec
We will explore old and new ways of living and will embark on a journey between traditional and modern. We are interested to challenge existing methods of construction and inventing new ways of combining the daily live. The focus of our investigation will be Istanbul, the city constructed on many layers of history, containing traces of brilliant memories but also everyday lives, domestic rituals, habits and secrets .
It is Europe’s most populous city, and is ranked worldwide on the 3rd place, with 15 million inhabitants. A city constantly stretched by its possibilities and situated on an uncertain ground.
“Istanbul is a city of contrast, contradiction and co-existence. There are strict and regimented rules for everything, but at the same time the city has its rebellious aspects. Istanbul is inventive, yet traditional; indulgent but repressed; and strangely Western, yet uniquely Eastern”.
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MEMOIR_A Kingsland Road Construct
me-moir (noun) -a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources:
“History becomes a word with no meaning, they take stones from the city walls and add them to the modern materials to make new buildings,…” Orhan Pamuk
In the first project of the year Orhan Pamuk’s ‘Istanbul – Memories of a City’ will be the departure point for your very personal memoir. These memoirs will involve constructing a spatial or architectural interpretation of an existing narrative found in Istanbul's literature, film, or paintings. Over a period of six weeks you are asked to explore one aspect of your findings and transform these into your first architectural composition. Inspired by Istanbul from far, your interventions will have a real site in London. The relation to the use, dynamic and function of the London site will confirm the choice of the interpreted narrative from Istanbul.
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PRELUDE_The Living Manual
prel-ude (noun) an action or event serving as an introduction to something more important – serious thought or consideration:
“The thing I drew, no matter how imaginary the house, the tree, the cloud, had a basis in material reality. If I drew a house I felt as if it was my house. I felt I owned everything I drew,…” Orhan Pamuk
During the second phase of the year you are asked to develop/invent a manual for living based on your personal narratives. This manual will form the basis for your main building later on in the year. This manual will be inspired by our visit to the old trading city between 2 continents. Here we will begin to imagine new constructions totally linked into the fabric of the city, yet aiming to reshape the future.
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TRANSFORMATION_Your Istanbul Building
trans-for-ma-tion (verb) – undergo a change:
“Istanbul’s fate is my fate: I am attached to the city because it has made me who I am.” Orhan Pamuk
The main proposal for the year will be the story of living - told through a building based in Istanbul. Directly taking inspiration from your previous projects it will explore new (and old) ideas of living.
The complexity of contemporary environmental, technological and social urban phenomena challenges traditional forms, materials and underlying geometries of architecture. You will develop your proposals through a set of appropriate tools: models, detailed architectural drawings in different scales, motion pictures, light sensitive drawings, oscillating drawings, drawings of pauses and accelerations and electric prototypes that survey, record and project.
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Reading list:
Invisible cities Italo Calvino, Istanbul Memories of a City Orhan Pamuk, The black book Orhan Pamuk, A user’s manual Georges Perec
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