THE/04
Open Studio: Anthropocene
Virginia Mannering
Studio Description
This open studio asks students to construct their own brief and from there produce an architectural proposal using ‘The Anthropocene’ as a prompt.
The Anthropocene is a proposed geological epoch characterised by the significant and enduring influence human activities have exerted on the Earth's geologies, ecosystems, and climates, marking a new era in which people have become the dominant force shaping the planet's environments. With the construction industry identified as a primary actor in the reshaping of the earth’s environments, students in this class are asked to react in a way that resonates with their own practice and interests.
Final projects will be subject to each student’s research trajectories, however we could imagine these might address combinations of: material concerns; an exploration of fragile, disturbed or “feral” sites; scenarios for future climates; waste, toxicity, and contamination. Proposals will be refined in class, in collaboration with peers and the studio leader.
Studio Outcomes
Due to the nature of the studio theme it is expected that projects in this class will work across multiple scales, from regional mapping to detail drawings. The aim of this is to ensure your projects tackle problems - from the planetary to the hyperlocal - with architectural responses.
Projects should aim to resolve as novel, provocative, or ambitious manifestations of the student’s research.
Studio Leaders
Virginia Mannering is a PhD candidate at University of Melbourne. She has taught across architectural design studios and architectural/art history and situates her teaching methodologies across those disciplines. Projects and bio can be viewed at www.virginiamannering.com
Readings & References
Anna Tsing et al., Feral Atlas (Redwood City: Stanford University Press, 2021),http://doi.org/10.21627/2020fa. https://feralatlas.org/
Max Liboiron, “Pollution Is Colonialism” (Durham: Duke University Press, 2021),
Kim Förster, ed., Environmental Histories of Architecture (Canadian Centre for Architecture, 2022),https://www.librarystack.org/environmental-histories-of-architecture/.
Hannah le Roux and Gabrielle Hecht, “Bad Earth Architecture,” e-flux architecture, accessed September 7, 2020,https://www.e-flux.com/architecture/accumulation/345106/bad-earth/.
Katrin Klingan, “Textures of the Anthropocene : Grain, Vapor, Ray” (Cambridge, MA : The MIT Press, 2015).
Schedule:
Tuesday 9:00am-12:00pm & 1:00pm-4:00pm in MSD 240
Off-Site Activities: