SUMMER SEMESTER 2020

Given the current events and regulations—the end of which is not yet in sight—we’ve decided to seize the opportunity to create a new display for the tour that can be experienced virtually and thus extend beyond the university’s boundaries. It’s an experiment we’d like to embark on together with you.

Specifically, we’ll be designing exhibition spaces for the ASL tour, where the ASL projects developed during the Summer Semester 20 will be presented. Of course, there will also be space for talks, get-togethers, lectures, and even parties.

The exhibition spaces you design will also be navigable virtually. We’ll import your 3D designs (created in Rhino) into a game engine, which you’ll then be able to explore virtually using an avatar.

The project will unfold in guided stages, using all the resources available to everyone at home. In addition to digital design, important design skills—such as drawing and analog model-making—will be integral components of the process throughout.

What if…? It’s the day after tomorrow, and some things are different from what we’re used to today. Ways of life and attitudes—such as how we live together, work, communicate, produce, and manage resources—have evolved. Right now, we’re experiencing firsthand just how much changed circumstances are affecting our daily lives.

Based on future scenarios outlined, conceived, and imagined by the students as part of the project, we will design, for an exemplary site _ “in the heart of the city,”— a hybrid residential complex for work, production, and living that meets the needs of its imaginary residents. Our guideline is that at least one-quarter of the residents are trees, which will be integrated into the building complex as equal users. With this paradigm shift, we aim to rethink our understanding of nature and explore potential synergies and interrelationships among the residents. Architecture WITH Nature

Feminist theorist Donna Haraway proclaims the “Cthulucene”—an era centered on the lives of all species and creatures and their coexistence. Kinships should be reimagined, and relationships should span species. She states: “We can only leave the Anthropocene behind if we see ourselves as a particularly empathetic species among the many beings in the planet’s humus, the compost heap of life.”

The goal is to develop architectures for a “living city of the future” that explores the reciprocal relationships between humans, trees/nature, and space.

All creative visual representations are driven by a specific idea. This idea takes shape from one’s own thoughts on a particular topic or a specific task. Through associative contextualization, one can articulate one’s own motivations and the influences on one’s creative work.

Reflecting—in writing or by hand—on acquired knowledge, past experiences, and the processes through which insights were gained influences the production of creative work and reveals new contexts of meaning—writing is an extension of thought.

During the workshop, techniques of associative positioning will be introduced, and experimental methods for developing free, text-based concepts to expand creative possibilities will be explored.

In the first part, following a general introduction, various methods—such as free writing, live writing, and “unfunctioning”—as well as exercises in concrete reflection and mind mapping on the themes of space and trees will be taught in both large and small groups.

The second day of the workshop is dedicated to developing and refining a statement addressing the assignment. This statement communicates the participant’s own design and serves as a foundation for the potential practical translation and execution of the assignment.

As a wide variety of processes become digitized, we are moving ever closer to an era in which collaboration between humans and machines is virtually indispensable.

In architecture, too, physical laws—such as material-specific properties—are merging with dynamic, rule-based virtual conceptual models, thereby enabling designers and planners to create complex structures.

This seminar will provide an overview of current methods in the field of “digital design” and allow participants to experiment with them.

This seminar is linked to and mandatory for participants in the introductory project “Discovering Spaces – ASL Tour Goes Virtual.” We encourage the use of all available tools and the integration of digital media into the creative design process as early as possible.

To this day, the city of Kassel does not have a platform for virtual tours of the city. As part of the “Kassel—Ordinary—Extraordinary” excursion series, we would like to create a virtual city tour. This tour will be based on your personal experiences, inspirations, and perspectives on the everyday life around you. Due to the current situation and social distancing measures, the streets are nearly deserted. This allows us to document the city’s current empty state and, later in the semester—when, hopefully, these places will be filled with life again—to capture the transformation of these spaces. As described in the title, we’re looking for places in Kassel that are perceived as ordinary—and therefore as unusual. We’re seeking a reflection of your actual daily life. Show us the places where you find yourself stopping time and again, that spark your thoughts, or that simply impress you. We look forward to discovering and documenting Kassel with you in a new way.

“Kassel: Ordinary—Unusual” is a collaborative event organized by the FG Design and Building Theory / EuG network with Prof. Marie Therese Harnoncourt–Fuchs, Harun Faizi, and Ludwig Geßner & the research platform BAU KUNST ERFINDEN / BKE with Prof. Heike Klussmann and Anne Krönker, which was founded for the conception and implementation of the ASL walking tour in the Summer Semester 2020.

In the “Narrative” seminar, students learn new formats for communicating project content and test them in one-on-one sessions. Participating students gain knowledge of storytelling and animation techniques, which they then apply directly to their own projects.