Lost in Translation seminar
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Architects are infamous thieves. The seminar will also question the notion of novelty and that of architectural translation from previous work. Examples of architectural translation may include the Boston Public Library by McKim, Mead, and White (or even the more modern version by Phillip Johnson), the Cooper Union renovation by John Hejduk, or even projects by Rem Koolhas that are at least “inspired” by those of Le Corbusier. Here one might also consider renovations such as the Castellvechio in Verona by Carlo Scarpa or the Pompèia Factory Leisure Center, in Sao Paulo, by Lina Bo Bardi, and the well-known Tate Modern in London where the architects have re-imagined the nature of an existing building. Architects also (beg) borrow (and steal) from other fields of inquiry. Inter-semiotic (from one field to another) translation may include; literature, as in the Danteum in Rome by Terragni and Lingeri; literary theory, for example Eisenman’s early house studies; painting such as Hejduk’s diamond houses and some of Gehry’s work; music as in the Stretto House in Dallas by Steven Holl; natural forms for example the work Calatrava, Dieste, Gaudi, and Horta; and even from geometric forms and modeling techniques explored in the work of Greg Lynn. More recently architects are drawing formal inspiration from diverse fields such as biology, botany, philosophy, various rendering techniques, fabrication strategies, and even pasta. |