40 686 Body & Space Morphologies Animism in architecture (Spring 2027)

Body and Space Morphologies (B&SM) is a research-based teaching program dedicated to works and studies in the Phenomenology of Architecture. The program offers Trans-Disciplinary master studios in explorative - architectural, pre-architectural and post-architectural - making, sensing and thinking.

We aim at preparing and enabling students to conduct their own interest driven investigation into Architectural Phenomenology understood as Research Creation; a working mode creating an inspired, process focused and reflective Material Practice. We consider this to be the Artistic Parallel to both Traditional Scholarly Research and Common Architectural Design Practice.

Based on performativity and affordance theories, performance and performance studies, disability and neurodiversity studies as well as phenomenology and perception theories, the B&SM Studio Works investigate primal and/or pre-architectural material, processes, phenomena and/or conditions, and develop or perform a series of experienced distinct objects that behave relational, that inspire imagination, that provide new knowledge, strong architectural interests and/or architectural narratives or identities.

The spring semesters – part of a series of courses on Acting and The Collective in a More-Than-Human World - are dedicated to investigate Animism in Architecture studied and worked through a discourse on the various ideas, movements and awarenesses created in current ecoperformance, ecopoetic, ethnopoetic and ethnofiction works. 

The spring 2027 semester works on Animism in Architecture through a focus set on ethnofictional works.

At the conclusion of the course the student should be able to:

• Conceptualize Animism in Architecture:

Argue for a multidisciplinary, non-human-centric approach to making, sensing, and thinking with environments.

• Execute Artistic Research:

Initiate interest-driven investigations and select appropriate materials/crafts to build an imaginative discourse toward architectural phenomenology.

• Apply Performativity:

Engage with environments and objects through a phenomenological lens, utilizing speech and action as productive tools within trans-disciplinary teams.

• Communicate Haptic Content:

Convey unique architectural narratives through physical materials and the specific sensory conditions they contain.

• Create Critical Awareness:

Identify and critique unproductive or unsustainable systems of oppression and learned behaviours within the field of architecture.

• Maintain Process Documentation:

Maintain a personal making-diary that demonstrates a clear dialogue between the work’s inherent qualities and its broader global or environmental subjects.

Pedagogical approach: Learning by doing

Students will undertake individual initiatives within a collaborative framework. Emphasis is placed on creating an inclusive studio environment and implementing/maintaining circular processes to minimize waste and maximize creativity. Teaching activities are designed to contextualize student work while challenging and reflecting upon conceptual connections.

Weekly schedule: Class meetings

• Wednesday & Thursday (13:00 – 16:00): Lectures, screenings, reviews, and worktable talks
• Friday Afternoons: Studio commons for student-led discussions, weekly summaries and peer-to-peer sessions

Supplemental activities: Workshops and excursions

Workshops and excursions will be determined collectively during the first two weeks of the semester.

Reviews and final exhibition

The semester includes four public mid-term reviews, culminating in a final work-display and exhibition where the students will present their complete works (objects/artefacts) alongside a book, film, or video documenting their creative process and connections. An external examiner will provide feedback on both individual projects and the studio as a whole.

Physical attendance at lectures, reviews, supervision sessions, discussions, and other educational activities is expected and necessary in order to achieve the learning outcomes

Assessment method: Project

Grouping: Individual

Grading scale: Pass/fail

In order to be assessed in this course, the student must have completed the following activities and assignments:

The course is assessed based on a semester project culminating in a final delivery consisting of

• a comprehensive exhibition of all objects and artefacts (and/or performances) produced
• a supporting hand-made book (or a film / video) illustrating the making process and conceptual / environmental connections
• a verbal presentation (10 minutes) followed by a Q&A session with the external examiner(s), peers and faculty