November 2019
Dialogue
53/03
Dialogue
A mediator, a script, a play, a sharded meaning, a dualism, an unravelling of thoughts, a flow of meanings or a small talk at the breakfast table.
It can take place between two friends, a group of strangers, a concept and a detail, an idea and a material, a student and a teacher, a student and a student, two monkeys or multiple monkeys.
Consciously and unconsciously, DIALOGUE is part of day-to-day life.
Editorial team
Aimee Baars, Jan Pruszyński, Nicole van Roij, Chun Kit 'CK' Wong, Christopher Clarkson, Federico Ruiz
With contributions from
Nathalie de Vries, Inez Margaux Spaargaren
Cover design by
Federico Ruiz
Editorial
In our previous issue's interview with the dean, Dick van Gameren, we briefly touched upon the subject of cooperation between students and different master tracks. This has inspired us to create an issue about different kinds of dialogue that students, tutors and employees can encounter while within and beyond the walls of BK.
Dialogue implies a two-way kind of conversation, where people taking part in it have a purpose and build (towards) something together — cooperate. However, can there be dialogue between people and spaces? How do spaces influence the kind of conversation that we are having? Do they allow for dialogue to exist?
We have critiqued architectural jargon, or the 'archispeak', many times in Bnieuws. However, specific jargon is also used to communicate efficiently between professionals. In extremes, these terms are converted into symbols to enable diagrammatic dialogue. Deciphering this from an onlookers perspective can be quite a challenge, which Christopher covered in his poem (good luck!).
Federico wrote about the importance of spaces for dialogue. Playing such a central role in Republican states and cities, but strangely absent from the BK, are they perhaps a lost opportunity?
In an interview with Raquel Rolnik, Aimee and Nicole asked about her professional and academic experiences. How does dialogue between urban citizens and institutions look like nowadays? What about students' and professors' dialogue with local citizens? Is there enough engagement with the local situation and residents?
Jan checked if dialogue can be created through the means of the game of Consequences. People around BK City were asked to add the next part of the conversation. Can the outcome be called dialogue? Or is it just an exquisite cadaver?
Nicole talked with Klaske Havik about Writing Urban Places, a new European research network, which is aiming to understand how dialogue, and other forms of language, may influence the built environment
You will find this and much more in this issue. Moreover, in response to some of our readers' suggestions, we left one of the last pages free for your notes, so if you have any comments about any of the articles, write them down and send us a photo or just tag us on Instagram! We would love to hear what you think!
Contents
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Dialogue lies at the core of any republic; it is not a coincidence that congress chambers, where highly sophisticated forms of dialogue take place, are constantly depicted and glorified by states that represent themselves as open and inclusive, even if they are not.
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I want you to imagine this red bicycle I’ve been thinking about designing for a while. It has some fluid curves in the frame, and the wheels are going to be green – wait scratch that, too Christmassy, make the wheels cream. And actually, it really ought to be Pantone 2035C and 7499C colour paints.
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Below is a parody on the first stanza of John Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn. This Poem, (see title above) aims first and foremost to critique the language used in written conversation between construction workers, architects, and technicians. The symbols used normally to represent the flow of sewerage and electricty have been transcribed to the latin alphabet to the right, this will be your guide in translating the below poem. Beware, some symbols are similar to others... Some of them might not be used... in fact, the guide might be out of date with the poem. Good luck.
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These past years I can recount several moments when I was moved emotionally by a space. In fact, I admit that two months ago I shed a tear when I said goodbye to the village in Southern France, where for several years now, I have spent careless and liberating summers. One could argue that my emotion is not sparked by the surroundings; it is instead triggered by nostalgia, the realization of fleeting time, the 'return' to normal life. This is true, but more than anything else, I feel a connection to this space specifically. In the words of Swiss architect Peter Zumthor: "There is magic in the real".
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Each font is a different person from the BK who contributed in creation of this Exquisite Cadaver. Editor Jan went around the faculty asking people to answer a question from the previous person and to follow up with a new one to continue the chain. Each person could only see the previous person's contribution. Can the outcome be called a dialogue? Was there anything you found surprising?
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In context of the promotion of her new book Urban Warfare: Housing under the Empire of Finance, we had the honour to talk one-on-one with Brazilian author Raquel Rolnik. As architect and urban planner, she has been deeply involved in policies concerning social housing for several decades. During 2008-2014 she was the UN special reporter on the Right to Adequate Housing. We asked her about her drive, her ideals, and the current global challenges the social housing sector is facing.
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How can architecture and urban design understand narratives? And, do our design methods consciously choose to react to or ignore existing narratives? The new European research network, Writing Urban Places, addresses these issues. This article opens up a dialogue on the aim of the research with the Chair of this network, Klaske Havik (chair of Methods & Analysis, department of Architecture).
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From the 19th to the 27th October was the Dutch Design Week (DDW) in Eindhoven. An architecture student, like me, went there to be surprised and inspired. After seeing a selection of different exhibitions, my thoughts started to focus more and more on my doubts about the implementation and feasibility of these projects. The presentation techniques used and the execution of the concepts were completely different from the ‘Architecture projects in BK’.
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As human beings, words form an integral part of who we are and reflect us as sentient beings. When we call for action and advocate that it triumphs over words, it fuels our impulse for showmanship and display. In the case of design, talk is certainly not cheap. The repercussions of design without extended period of dialogue often to lead to dire results, evident in many design case studies.
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This ‘artefact’ is a Muji 0.38 Black Gel Ink Pen. It is great for sketching as well as writing. This is important. The amount of ink that comes out is constant and does not shine through on the next page. The cap is attached tightly to the pen itself and never goes off unexpectedly, no matter how many items I stuff into my bag.