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e/merging encounters people/culture/place

An invitation, a summons or a challenge; how do you encounter your fellow citizens? Who are the people you pass by on the street, stare at on the bus, stand behind at the café, chat with on forums? Where did they form their experiences? Do they matter to you? Might they matter in the future? Can we find ways to mutually activate our collective approaches, diverse backgrounds, skills and talents as we accompany each other on our journey? Why in this world of unprecedented connectivity do we feel so isolated? Studio 4 works with an open-ended approach by engaging with urban situations and proposing new ways to participate in the spaces we inhabit together. We explore super-diverse urban neighbourhoods with a focus on examining emerging qualities where we gather information, identify topics, engage with contexts, etc… These findings are then synthesized or merged allowing us to question existing ways of living and to propose new alternatives to provoke encounters. We invite you to join us on our journey of encounters as we visit multiple destinations.

Context of Investigation  
Richard Sennett states that ‘The public realm can be simply defined as a place where strangers meet’ and this will frame the contextual approach of Studio 4 in relation to physical and social contexts. Places are more than a physical location or a series of coordinates. They are cultural artefacts that store memories and experiences. Strangers are more than outsiders and interlopers. We are simultaneously connected and divided by our cultural backgrounds, daily routines and personal desires.  
In Fall we focus on Urban situations by examining and reinterpreting fragments of districts in the continuously evolving city of Berlin. In Spring we explore how we to create new synergies in similar contexts and how encounters with strangers make places.  

Studio Agenda and Methodology  
Studio 4 uses a sequence of methods in each semester starting with concrete case studies, progressing to contextual mappings and concluding with spatial resolution. The Fall begins with Emerging Understandings as we examine, analyse and interpret built elements and ephemeral activities of chosen case studies. In Encountering Situations, we visit Berlin to observe, interact with and record activities in the urban realm. In Merging Situations, we implement our previous findings and explore design strategies to accommodate new contextual encounters.  
The Spring begins with Formulate where we scrutinise the issues behind societal issues. In Locate we position ourselves within a physical and cultural context and identify wider connections. In Allocate we propose spatial interventions before concluding the project with Consolidate.  
 
Teaching team: Richard Conway (studio responsible), Robin Durand, Sangram Shirke.  
 
 

Latest update: 2024-09-02