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SUMMARY:Mud on the Floor. Dirty Realities in Scholarly Work / EDAR\, THEMA
DTSTART:20241114T123000
DTEND:20241114T140000
DTSTAMP:20260427T221019Z
UID:7dcd6613f9d73cb43c7258caebfa512d5c8b8c4e0a3d0544af711356
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Paolo Tombesi\, EPFL FAR\nThe public lecture series Mud on th
 e Floor looks at methods for studying construction sites. Although constr
 uction is required for architecture and cities to be built\, it can be not
 ably absent from scholarship. There are a few institutional reasons for th
 is (architectural history developing as a subset of art history\, for exam
 ple) but also structural reasons for it: as ephemeral\, chaotic\, and lite
 rally dirt-y sites\, construction can challenge our neat scholarly frames 
 and methods.\nThe presentations will be from architects\, historians\, and
  anthropologists. The series encourages that we as scholars spend more tim
 e in the field or in the archives of the construction site as a way of bri
 nging a bit more “mud” back into our institutions and\, in doing so\, 
 better taking on questions of working conditions\, improvisation\, tacit k
 nowledge\, and even uncertainty\, to name just a few of the ways that look
 ing at construction can enrich our research work.\n\n14 November / 12:30-1
 4:00  / Paolo Tombesi\, EPFL Far Laboratory\nWhy bother with constructio
 n? A taxonomy of scholarly utilities.\nActual construction processes do no
 t enjoy much currency within architectural academia. Somehow\, the percei
 ved prosaicness of site operations seems to have combined with the inevit
 ably commercial nature of many of the activities along the supply chain of
  building products to reduce architectural scholars' interest in the pedes
 trian intricacies of construction.  \nBut is it really so? Or is it aware
 ness of construction a necessary component of true architectural scholarsh
 ip? Is it possible fully to comprehend a building or to validate a buildin
 g solution without comprehending its material realisation challenges? Is t
 he very idea of authorship incomplete without a review of the decisions ta
 ken on the ground? In facilitating answers to these questions\, the discu
 ssion will use literary and literal examples to reflect on how constructio
 n knowledge can infuse architectural debate\, from design theory to histor
 ical exegesis\, environmental analysis to social values.  \n\nMud on the
  Floor is coordinated by Sarah Nichols (THEMA Lab) and represents the 202
 4 SCHOLARS in Transition public lecture series. This established EDAR an
 nual series of lectures aims at giving a voice to contemporary scholars wh
 o\, within their ongoing research activity\, are experiencing a « transit
 ion » condition: their contribution to new and emerging research topics\
 , and to tentative interpretations and unconventional approaches\, marks t
 he intersection of their personal research agendas\, the evolution of thei
 r discipline\, the public debate\, and the availability of sources and dat
 a.
LOCATION:AAC 0 14 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==AAC%200%2014
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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