CONTENT / Radical comes from the latin radix, -īcis, and means root which, as for the Oxford Dictionary, stands for the origin or basis of something. Therefore, a RADICAL HOUSE should be somehow connected to the original meaning of what a house is but…. what is a house? What are its main characteristics and ingredients?
We may not talk about it, but architecture (and architects, its most prominent agents) is always about imagining houses but most of the times the inner understanding of it is concealed within routine and unconsciousness.
In this workshop we’ll focus on radical houses-seekers (or radical architects) that pushed the possibility of imagining a house with extreme ideas. From the single mind of Ledoux to the proposals of Raymund Abraham, Ant Farm, Street Farmers, Archigram, Archizoom, Coop Himmelblau, Haus Rucker Co, Hans Hollein, Pettena, Walter Pichler, Raggi, Saint Florian, Superstudio, UFO and Ugo La Pietra our goal will be to learn about radical houses to criticize them and to finally create one of our own.
This course is as a way to understand that within the clear taxonomy of houses the radical ones have their own qualities and expectations. From there, each group of students will imagine one Radical House (verbally first, graphically at the end) and explain it to the rest of the class.
Our workshop takes this radical projects as an inspiration to imagine new houses in order to extend the radical family. In this workshop we must push our limits and believe that utopia is still possible (please, do not forget that, for starters, the concept of a house must be critized).
AIMS / To study, think about the idea of a radical house and to imagine a contemporary one. To address the experience of radicality, to conceal life maybe between walls, to draw…. To dismiss scale to start with a project. To generate a world map or radical houses that may coexist. To explain your ideas to the rest of the group. To design floor plans, elevations, cross sections and a render (the most efficient way to understand architecture) of your Radical Houses.
METHOD + SCHEDULE / Radical knowledge and imagination as a tool. To imagine, agree and design your own Radical House.
1st day / Presentation (27th Oct, 12:30CET) 20 minutes + homework: Introduction of the course by the professor, student’s questions and comments about the workshop and homework details.
2nd day / Crit (03rd Nov, 09:30CET) 4 hours: Short lecture by the professor + Group work to start the design of your Radical House. Submission 01: First sketches and 100 words brief of the project (free technique).
3rd day / Crit (10th Nov, 09:30CET) 4 hours: Feedback of submission 01 (before the class). Group work to complete the design of your Radical House. Submission 02: Floor plans, elevations, cross sections and a render of the project (free technique and scale).
4th day / FESTIVAL (17th Nov, 9:30CET) 3,5 hours: exhibition in the city. EVALUATION AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES/ After these two weeks workshop the student
will be able to:
Understandradicalarchitecturemainconcernsandtools
Developarchitecturalcriticismbyanalysingradicalarchitecture
Developradicalarchitectureprojectsthroughradicaldesignprocessesandconceptual work methods
Composearadicalarchitecturalprojectandpresentitorallyandvisuallytotheclass. Design radical floor plans, elevations, cross sections and a render of a Radical House.
Bibliography and Basic References:
1. Radical Architecture: Radical Architecture | MoMA and How the 1960s and 1970s inspired radical architecture | CNN
2. Exodus: Exodus, or the voluntary prisoners of architecture. – SOCKS (socks-studio.com)
Universidad Europea de Madrid (SPAIN)