Module Collecting, documenting and presenting architecture

Centers for Architecture: definitions and activities

Bachelor Level 2 SWS / 3 ECTS
Lecturer: Natália Correia Brandão 
AR20083

The emergence of the Centres for Architecture dates from the late 1970s, being the initiative and personal efforts of the architect and philanthropist Phyllis Lambert - through the creation of the Canadian Centre for Architecture in Montreal - a model that was followed by other institutions in Copenhagen, Vienna, New York City, and so on. The activities promoted by them range from the establishment of collections, research, exhibitions, and publications to the promotion of educational programs to engaging with the general public. 

However, with an elastic definition, the Center for Architecture is yet to be individually considered amid the foggy place it fluctuates among the Architecture Museums, Institutes, and Galleries. The contrasting scenario - of the inexistence of a differentiation apart from their self-semantic denomination - is also to be confirmed either through their similarities and/or singularities.

The proposition for this Seminar is - parting from the belief that Centers for Architecture represent a potential bridge between the scientific community, the professionals in the architectural field, and the general public - to analyze them with particular attention to their actions of collecting, researching, and communicating architecture. 

The course will work as a laboratory of collective thinking and discussion with an approach to the process of their emergency; with lectures from guests that have either researched the topic or directly worked on similar institutions; and, towards its conclusion, the final activities will lead to the elaboration of a guidebook related to different examples of Centers for Architecture. Moreover, throughout the seminar, we will come up with a collective definition for the typology.

Kick-Off Meeting: Thursday 19.10.2023, 13.15
Time: Thursday, 13.15 - 14.45
Location: Seminar room 0340 B
Language: English