After successful completion of the course, students are able to critically reflect on the topic of vernacular architecture as a collaborative and cooperative process and to make independent statements. The design stuido is conceived as a research-based format: the definition of the vernacular, its position and relevance in architectural discourse and its manifestations up to the present are to be researched.
The guiding thesis of the course is that authorless architectures, both in their functionality and aesthetics, are the materialisation of a communal and cooperative consensus.
The following aspects will be explored and reflected upon in the course:
History, definition & characteristics of authorless architecture
Historical research of the term vernacular in architecture. What is the etymology of the word and when was it introduced into the architectural context? In which contexts can vernacular building be located? Which aspects (social, societal, etc.) shape or are prerequisites for such building methods?
Reception and discourse in the academic context
What role does academic discourse play in the perception of vernacular building? How has the topic of authorless architecture been thematised, categorised and appropriated historically?
Cooperation and Functionality
Vernacular building is characterised in its aesthetics by a well thought-out functionality. What spatial and programmatic requirements underlie the aesthetics of diverse vernacular architectures?
Formal language, codification and reproduction
Through the formal definition of spatial and design elements, they become codes that can be reproduced. What happens to a site-bound and communally shaped architecture when it is reduced to its design elements?
The research is based on a historical reader that reflects various aspects of vernacular architecture and its perception. Based on this, its development until today will be critically examined and reflected. Based on the above-mentioned aspects, the topic of community and cooperation in vernacular building will be reflected in texts and graphic analyses and an independent research question will be developed from this. A critical and multi-layered analysis and statement on vernacular architecture as a practice and in academic discourse has to be written.
Research: Independent research and analysis. Definition of questions / theses on the topic.
Results of the research: Formulation of one's own position with the specifications defined under methods. A critical and multi-layered analysis and statement on vernacular building in textual and graphic form is required .
Attendance is mandatory and part of the examination modalities.
