Lehrangebot

In diesem Seminar wird der in der Architektur, im Städtebau und in der Landschaftsarchitektur weit verbreitete, aber oft missverstandene Begriff der Region kritisch untersucht. Wir werden die Geschichte der Region bis zur Stadt Merseburg (Sachsen-Anhalt) zurückverfolgen, wo sie in den 1920er Jahren als ein Konzept an der Schnittstelle von Wirtschaftsplanung, Stadtplanung, Infrastrukturentwicklung und Landschaftsarchitektur theoretisiert wurde. Die politische Bedeutung, die diesem Konzept zukommt, eröffnet Fragen über die Rolle des Staates in der Wirtschaft und über die Mechanismen kolonialer Kontrolle. 

Das Seminar trifft sich an ausgewählten Tagen zu Lektüre- und Diskussionsrunden (Termine werden beim ersten Treffen mit der Gruppe am 22.04. abgesprochen) und schließt mit einer Exkursion nach Merseburg, Halle und Dessau in der Woche vom 22.-25. Juli ab.
 

Sprache: Deutsch

Lehrende: Prof. Dr. Alla Vronskaya

Architecture’s scales are not limited to buildings, just as architecture’s effects are not limited to structure or aesthetics. Rather, the impacts and effects of built environments range from molecular particles to global logistics of extraction, from human bodies constructing and maintaining it to regional effects of demographic shifts or cultural appropriations. In this third “edition” of the seminar “Architecture’s Scales,” we will use scale as a lens for looking at architecture’s engagement with a range of social and environmental issues. 
The seminar will be taught in collaboration with the Prof. Dr. Anna-Maria Meister, the chair of Architecture Theory, KIT, and the leader of Lise-Meitner research group “Coded Objects” at the Kunsthistorisches Institut, Florence. Meeting together biweekly in person and online, we will discuss a text by a leading contemporary scholar or theorist of architecture, followed by an evening lecture and discussion session with the author of this text. The morning discussion session will take place in person (with a Zoom link to the KIT group); the evening lecture will take place online. 
The language of reading and discussion is English. All students will be required to complete weekly readings and reading responses, participate in discussion, and lead (as a part of a group) one of the sessions. There are no final papers or projects and no final examination. It is possible to write a Studienarbeit in connection to this seminar.

selected Wednesdays, 10:00-11:30 (online) & selected Thursdays, 18:30-20:00, ASL-Neubau, 2111.

Language: English

Instructors: Prof. Dr. Alla Vronskaya in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Anna-Maria Meister, KIT

The seminar, offered as a collaboration between FB05, FB06, and the Kunsthochschule, will explore how geographic and urban space is organized, structured, and constructed by art, architecture, infrastructure, and technology. In the course of the semester, we will read texts and discuss projects that deal with several selected topics related to geographic imaginaries and their architecturalizations. Together, we will think about such questions as: How is space invented and constructed? What is the difference between social, physical, geographic, and environmental space? What is the role of infrastructure in the construction of space? What role do art and architecture play in shaping different spatial programs?

The language of reading and discussion is English. 
All students will be required to complete weekly readings and participate in discussion. 
There are no final papers or projects and no final examination. 
It is possible to write a Studienarbeit in connection to this seminar.
 

Thursdays, 12:00-13:30 (weekly), Arnold-Bode 10, 1215.

Language: English

Instructors: Prof. Dr. Alla Vronskaya & Prof. Dr. Mi You
 

What can sites of extraction teach us about conditions of labor, energy use, resource management, and the transformation of the environment, in physical as well as conceptual terms? How do they challenge ideas about sustainability, and conversely, what can they tell us about biodiversity, Artificial Intelligence, or even environmental finance?

Drawing on historical studies as well as contemporary ethnographies, this seminar challenges students to understand “extraction” outside of the industrial mine. Moving from plantations and conservation parks, to data centers and space colonies, we will considers the impact of extractive processes, sites, and cultures on the disciplines of architecture, urban planning, and landscape architecture since the mid-twentieth century.

Thursdays, 18:00-20:00, ASL-Neubau, 3108.

Language: English

Instructor: Megan Eardley, M.A.

"I cannot, in whole conscience, recommend architecture as a profession for girls. I know some women who have done well at it, but the obstacles are so great that it takes an exceptional girl to make a go of it. If she insisted on becoming an architect, I would try to dissuade her. If then, she was still determined, I would give her my blessing–she could be that exceptional one."

Pietro Belluschi, FAIA, “Should You Be an Architect?” (1955)

It is no secret that, despite all efforts at equal representation, architecture is still a predominantly male field: although, as of 2016, 58% of architecture students at German universities were women, they only represent 35% of workers in architectural firms and none of the top twenty firms in Germany are managed solely by a woman. Full time female architects continue to earn much less, about 30% less than their male counterparts. The situation in academi is even more grim: Only 5% of professorships are held by women in architectural schools. 1 What can we do to change this predicament? Generations of feminist scholars and architectural historians have struggled to find answers to these and similar questions. In this seminar, we will review their legacy, examining both the complicated histories of women’s relationship with architecture and feminist scholarship that inspired and led their struggle for equality. We will study the legacy of feminist theory in architectural history through the framework of feminism’s four “waves,” which have influenced and shaped each other historically, intellectually, and politically. Taking this historic structure as a point of departure, we will focus on how feminist scholars addressed issues such as the gendered use and construction of space, the status of women within the architectural profession, and the entanglement of gender with other forms of marginalization (such as ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, and class) in architecture.
Each class meeting will pair one work of feminist theory (Wollstonecraft, Beauvoir, Lorde, Butler, and more) with a scholarly work that takes up feminist theoretical frameworks within the scope of art and architectural history (Nochlin, Stratigakos, Hayden, Akcan, and more). 
Prüfungsleistung: Grades will be based on pre-work before class and active participation in class discussions. Students (either individually or in groups) will be expected to organize and lead one discussion session during the semester.

Language: English

Instructor: Sarah Wheat, M.A.