I: Methodological Frictions 10am–11:30am
On many platforms and within a huge range of fields, we see a strong aspiration for working beyond or entirely without the boundaries formed by disciplines and genres. What is the promise of such an inter-, trans-, or, as Forecast puts it, non-disciplinary approach? Is it more than an invigorating crossover cure, providing fresh cognitive material to super-specialized professionals from time to time? If so, how might a meaningful and even thriving collaboration be organized between disparate partners, who often do not even share a common language?
With:
Pippo Ciorra (MAXXI, Rome; Demanio Marittimo Km-278, Senigallia)
Mae-ling Lokko (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York)
Martina Schraudner (Fraunhofer Center for Responsible Research and Innovation, acatech)
Jörg Stollmann (Urban Design and Urbanization, TU Berlin)
Moderation and summary: Matthias Mohr (radialsystem)
II: Usefulness 11:30am–1pm
For many in our troubled era, the way creative work is looked at and reviewed accentuates its social relevance, which often implies a direct applicability. Might its moral impetus help influence or even change the conditions we live in? What is it good for? We’d like to learn more about how striving for social or political usefulness may influence the ways creatives as much as institutions conceptualize and produce their work, and what value a “useless” creativity may or may not have. Is an activist approach more valuable than a work focusing on aesthetic or formal matters?
With:
Tatiana Bilbao (Architect, Mexico City)
Matevž Čelik (Museum of Architecture and Design, Ljubljana)
Rahul Mehrotra (Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, Cambridge)
Josephine Michau (Copenhagen Architecture Festival CAFx)
Judith Seng (Designer, Berlin)
Moderation and summary: Daniel Perlin
III: Prophecies 2pm–3:30pm
Like many other experimental platforms, Housing the Human claims to work on concepts reflecting future developments. Yet, notions of “innovation”, “future”, or even “utopia” may feel worn-out and abused, particularly when they are meant to contribute to corporate branding. Why and how might a look into possible futures make sense, and what concepts of innovation may be worth taking a deeper look into?
With:
Jan Boelen (Z33, Hasselt; HfG Karlsruhe)
Beatriz Colomina (Princeton University, Princeton, NJ)
Jürgen Howaldt (Expert for social innovation, TU Dortmund)
Daniel Perlin (Designer, New York City)
Margit Rosen (Art historian, ZKM, Karlsruhe)
Moderation and summary: James Taylor-Foster
The seminar is kindly supported by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.
A summary of the seminar is available as a PDF.