urbainable – stadthaltig EC(centri)CITY – The Eccentric City
In the context of the exhibition "urbainable - stadthaltig" the curators Nadim Samman (KW Institute for Contemporary Art) and Matthias Sauerbruch, Akademie member and Director of the Architecture Section since 2018, developed a series of roundtable discussions within the framework of EC(centri)CITY – The Eccentric City, in which the city, social aspects, nature and public space as a compressor for artists and architects are discussed with international partners. You are invited to listen to the discussions here:
Debate the Public Space
In German, 4 Aug 2020
>> Roundtable talk (audio)
Architect Matthias Sauerbruch speaks to landscape architect Regine Keller, curator Britta Peters and architect Arno Brandlhuber about the current state and future of public space. Where does public life actually take place, and where is it visible? The conditions of public space need to be constantly renegotiated What kind of debates need to be held? This roundtable explores the strict restriction of public space through various regulatory mechanisms and states that there is little openness to artistic, urban planning and structural experiments. These deficits are especially visible in extreme times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When can artists, urban planners, architects and landscape architects intervene? How do we deal with property issues in public space today, and what does idealized action in public space, completely free from the compulsion to consume, look like?
Building on Corona
In English, 5.8.2020
>> Roundtable talk (audio)
Curator Nadim Samman speaks to architectural theorist Carson Chan and architect Gustav Düsing about their collaboration Notes on Fortnightism (2020)—a research project and short film addressing architecture in the post-COVID era. The state of emergency triggered by the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus has led to isolation and social distancing worldwide. Chan and Düsing explore what consequences this has for the development for architectural agendas. Based on the proven model of the tent with communal and private spaces, simple technology, guaranteed mobility and diverse interior structures/cells, they speculate on the vision of a 'quarantine camp' for the 21st century.
Taken in Isolation
In English, 5 Aug 2020
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Curator Nadim Samman speaks to artist Fabian Knecht, film director Bernhard Landen and the American philosopher Dehlia Hannah about Knecht’s artistic practice, as depicted in the short film Isolation (52°33'44.1”N 14°03'12.8”E) (2020). Documenting the creation of a site-specific artwork in Buckow, Markische-Schweiz, this film (and conversation) explores Knecht’s critical investigation of the relationship between architecture and ‘nature’, figure and ground.
Body and Race in the City
In English, 4 Aug 2020
>> Roundtable talk (audio)
“As architects, we have the power to narrate the experience and empower communities. If we can fully engage in the difficult and necessary work of creating equity in our learning and physical environments while imparting beauty and maintaining good humour, then it is truly a job well done”—so says Camille Martin-Thomsen (Pratt Institute), concerning her work as a professor and architect. Together with curator Nadim Samman and the artist and architect Alex Schweder, she discusses where ethics and aesthetics meet, and the prospects for desegregating climate change, race, and the city.