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70 307 Living Systems & Material Flows
Passed foundatin level courses (Bachelor) at AHO or equivalent, 180 ECTS. The course is open to design and architecture students.
Recommended prerequisite knowledge:
Students need to come into this course with the desire to develop a politicized design praxis beyond market-oriented ones. We specifically encourage students who display good levels of autonomy and critical thinking skills (or the desire to develop these skills further) to apply, as they will have to define their own project parameters.
The ongoing conflation of ecological and social crises has made visible the close and vulnerable relationship between humans and the environment, pushing the practice of design to rethink its habits, trajectories, and relationships with the material world. In design, this realisation has translated into an urgency to reconsider material thinking and its intricate ties to extractivism, that is, the mobilization of matter to be tamed, commodified and transformed through technology into resources at the service of humans. In light of this, it has become imperative that designers today define new caring ways in which humans might relate to the living world beyond technosolutionsist approaches. This course thus aims to offer students an opportunity to critically explore alternative value systems, knowledges, relationships, and ways of living vis-à-vis a materially-embedded approach to design.
By experimenting with novel design methods and frameworks, and by critically inquiring into new socio-material and technological encounters, students will learn to position themselves in regards to contemporary urgencies via design. Firstly, they will learn to use design research methods to inquire on personal material and technological interests, then revealing how larger social, economic, political and cultural entanglements are embedded within matter/technology. Secondly, they will be invited to alchemize their personal interests and design research into new ways of relating to matter that is charged, concerning themselves with what design ought to heal instead of harm. The goal will be for them to develop a design praxis beyond market-oriented practices, but specifically doing so by making new ways of engaging with the material world. Students can expect to work hands-on with materials and objects of their choice, which they will inquire on through deep craft.
Finally, the course will bring together an international group of designers, architects, artists, and activists that will showcase – via lectures and workshops – current critical praxes around the course themes. This course is an opportunity for students to explore and expand their understanding of design, and is also open to students from other institutes interested in approaching the aforementioned themes
Teacher: Serina Tarkhanian
- Become familiar with current critical praxes in design and how these relate to critical theory in design and beyond
- Develop a design praxis beyond market-oriented practices and from a politicized perspective (i.e. anti-colonial, anti-patriarchal, queer approaches to design)
- Develop the ability to preface your design research and projects with critical self-positioning, self-critique, and cycles of accountability, to consider the effects of design and the act of designing on the shaping of bodies, political subjectivities, and identities
- Know how to create your own design methods of investigating particular socio-material and technological entanglements
- Translate your position and personal interests through hands-on material engagements and design project of your own
- Learn how to critically use aesthetics (materials, shapes, making techniques, textures, colors, etc.) as a way to convey your research and positions as a designer
- Learn to build transdisciplinary collaborations with subject matter experts
- Learn how to work with, analyse and handle complex data (i.e. scientific papers and data in fields such as geology, medicine, etc.) for design
- Develop high levels of autonomy and critical thinking skills in design
Students work individually on one self-defined project throughout the semester. Assignments and in-class activities are designed to assist students in this process, and are designed to accommodate the wide variety of materials, interests, etc. each student will bring to the table. Assignments and activities help you develop your position, research and design throughout the semester.
There will be one day in the semester where we will go work hands-on, learning from a local practitioner how they work and engage with critically with a local material. The goal is to get you to start making something, get your hands dirty and see how this process can be a space for exploring your critical thoughts and positions as a designer.
Throughout the semester, we bring in critical practitioners (local and international) who are doing exemplary work to talk about their approaches, methods, process, etc.. Here, we aim for a variety of ways of working so you get a broad view on the many ways it’s possible to engage with material praxis politically.
Each week, you work on your project (during and/or outside of class hours). Most importantly, you discuss what you’ve done during tutoring/feedback sessions (some of these will be one on one with the teacher, others will be in groups).
The last week will be reserved for finalizing any design work left, working on how to exhibit it, setting up your work in an exhibition format, and final presentations.
Teacher: Serina Tarkhanian
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project assignment | Individual | Pass / fail | Students work individually on one self-defined project throughout the semester, which is submitted at the end of the course, including a presentation and exhibited project. Some reviews during the course have mandatory attendance, and must be attended in order to be assessed for the course. |
| Workload activity | Comment |
|---|---|
| Attendance | It is highly recommended that students plan for time to work on their project outside of class hours in addition to during class hours. Exactly how much is up to the student and the level of ambitions and dedication. Students are required to attend no less than 80% of this class, and be available within the defined class hours. Attendance at reviews is mandatory. |