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’.

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".

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).