Intersections and Mutations
in the relationship between architecture and technology
Intersections and mutations in the relationship between architecture and technique
The first conference initiative promoted by Ar.Tec., the congress intends to offer scholars and professionals in the sector an opportunity for broad and detailed reflection on the ways in which the relationship between architecture and technology is expressed and on the related cultural and operational implications; a reflection based on research, direct experiences in the field, results of design and construction experiments, to be expressed in general critical terms.
The theme of “intersection” refers to the complex relationships that link research that deals with technology in terms of design and construction in the field of engineering and architecture, as well as the connections of such research with bordering cultural and operational areas (structures, energy and systems, materials technology, architectural composition, history of architecture, etc.), opening up to interactions with the world of industrial production, construction entrepreneurship, and professions.
The typical knowledge of the various areas is to be understood both in a strictly scientific sense (research) and in an operational sense (training, professional practice). It is therefore a question of investigating the set of connections that interconnect the various disciplinary fields and, at the same time, the areas of overlap between specific contents, as they have been historically determined, having as a term of comparison the current reality of research inside and outside the university, the training activity of the operators involved in the building process, as well as the professional activity actually exercised.
The theme of “intersection” is almost inevitably associated with that of “mutation”, understood as a dynamic change that, over time, has taken place in the specifics of individual areas, of individual knowledge, both through relationships within the academic world and through the contacts and useful “contaminations” that this world maintains and creates with operators in the construction sector.
Within the “intersections and mutations” thus outlined, the following thematic paths have been identified, each corresponding to a different work session:
1. Relationship between project and construction process. In this context, the dialectical relationship that links the design phase to the organization (phases, operators, procedures, etc.) of the building process is located. In this regard, the consolidated cultural position that considers the design phase always connected with the contextualization of the implementation methods of the process, and never as a set of autonomous acts and decisions closed in a self-referential system, takes on particular importance.
2. Relationship between design and construction. The design process that involves construction, in which the ideative act is dialectically connected to building, and therefore to materials and techniques, is a field of interest for scholars and operators who intervene in the building process, for contributions of merit of method and critical reflection, based on operational research, experiences and applications in the field. At a time when, with some difficulty, the professional figures of engineers and architects are being redefined, reflecting on the figure of a designer attentive to construction takes on a particular interest.
3. Relationship between languages and materials of architecture. It is a question of critically analyzing in what ways and to what levels the production of industrial components and building systems influences the architectural design, the construction and, ultimately, the overall formal meaning of the works. The relationship between architectural language and industrial production naturally becomes clearer in cases where technological innovation, or even technological transfer, coming from industry, can guide/condition the identification of the significant formal elements of architecture.
4. Relationship between project, history and environmental context. The building process must be framed in a design perspective also in reference to the role of techniques in the architectural work. The reading of the built context and the environment is inextricably linked to the design synthesis and therefore, in this sense, is itself characterized by a design intention. A certainly significant element in this area is the interscalarity of the environmental contexts, to which the set of design and construction acts typical of our "profession" relates.
5. Round table on “The training of technical professionals for architecture. Evolving scenarios and new objectives”. The professional training, including post-graduate, of designers, builders and those involved in the management of the building process, taking into account the thematic areas indicated above, must be placed in relation to the educational systems and the prospects for change and development of the same, in a general framework in which graduates and specialist graduates in the field of engineering, architecture and territory are placed. This session therefore includes the presentation of the teaching methodologies, the training procedures adopted in the various locations, and the results achieved.
First Annual Congress held in Rome dal 03/12/2004 Al 04/12/2004
Contact us
Ar.Tec. Association c/o Department of Architecture and Urban Planning for Engineering
University of Rome "La Sapienza"
Via Eudoxiana, 18
00184 Rome
Tel +06 445 85 187
Fax 06 445 85 186
info@artecweb.it
