Mapping the spatial identity of a location relying on methods from visual art.

Abstract

Good architecture interacts with the spatial context. If this interaction is missing, it comes at the cost of public space. This is why the quality of life in so many rural villages is under threat, because contractors choose to build generic, detached houses which are not in keeping with the character of the surrounding landscape or are not in proportion to the surrounding buildings typical of the area (Thissen et al., 2001). The PHL architecture course pays a lot of attention to the first phase of the design process , namely observing the location for which the design is to be made. Existing observation methods, such as those used by practising architects to explore a location, are restricted to taking measurements and photographs. The outcome therefore remains extremely technical and unable to capture the essence of the location. Good architecture requires a more layered interpretation, an interpretation that pays attention to the history, landscape, use,etc. of the location but also to a multi-sensory interpretation. In this paper we aim to show how the work of conceptual artists can help obtain this kind of layered interpretation of a spatial location. In practice, six projects by six different artists have been selected. Walking is a central theme in the works and this links all the projects. The artists walk to allow their work of art to mature in situ (Careri, 2001). Each project comprises a dedicated description of how and what the artist registers and how he represents this in a physical medium. These methods of observation and representation are translated into spatial observation methods and then presented to students studying architecture and interior design who are required to use them in a series of urban locations. The students are also asked to use a number of ethnographic observation techniques and urban planning analysis techniques. By subsequently comparing these with the artistic methods,, we look at whether our approach may result in different kinds of observations of a location. The focus in this paper is on translating the method used by conceptual artists into observation mehods used by architecture students. Part 1 describes this translation. Part 2 contains a brief sketch of the student assignments and part 3 gives an overview of the main conclusions.