The Most Basic Things
In a series of lectures, conversations, and design projects, we will examine the most basic level of architecture—the underlying ideas and concepts that structure the discipline; the intuitions and shared understandings that ground those concepts; basic design methodology; and the everyday “working material” of architecture and other creative practices.
Leading philosophers, designers, and scholars from Sweden, Hong Kong, and the US will reflect upon the intuitions, feelings, senses, and experiences that underlie our notions of design, professional judgment, history, program, type, drawing, place, and landscape. Advanced KTH Architecture students will attend lectures and events on Zoom and participate in workshops and discussions. All events listed below will be livestreamed for public viewing: visit https://www.facebook.com/navsw... . You are welcome to visit our FB page and attend the livestream! All listed events will also be recorded for future viewing on our video platform “Studio:N.” If you would like to receive a reminder about one or more events, send a reminder request to info@navsweden.se. All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2.)
Schedule of Events
Day 1: Tuesday August 25
13:30-14:00: Peter Lynch, KTH Guest Professor and organizer of “The Most Basic Things,” introduces the course, the lecturer, and the lecture theme.
14:00-15:15: Lecture “The Basis of Design.”
WATCH IT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Note: The video artwork shown at the end of Kyna's presentation should be seen in the original according to the link below. The compression in this Facebook stream breaks the flow and parts of the experience:
Kyna Leski—journalist of dreams; animation artist; author; designer of buildings, bowls, and benches—has dedicated her life's work to the creative process www.kynaleski.com. As a young girl she witnessed her father design projects from his drawings and sketches through to their realization and reception by the public, to whom they still belong. It was an education in process, the workings of intuition-to-design-to-building, the difficult relationship of stated intention to experience and the transubjectivity between. These early ponderings underpinned her work as a student at The Cooper Union and Harvard GSD; her work for Peter Eisenman; and most importantly her own work as a designer and principal (with Chris Bardt) of 3six0 Architecture https://www.3six0.com/people/. It has been fed and nourished by over three decades of teaching at the Rhode Island School of Design, where she is Professor in Architecture. She has served as Department Head and Head of RISD's European Honors Program in Rome. Author, The Storm of Creativity (MIT Press, 2015).
Day 2: Wednesday August 26
10:10-10:30: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer and the lecture theme.
10:30-11:45: Lecture “The Basis of Professional Judgment.”
WATCH IT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Jonna Bornemark, Professor in Philosophy, is a teacher and researcher at the Centre for Studies in Practical Knowledge, Södertörn University (Stockholm) https://www.sh.se/english/sode... . Monographies: Dissertation Kunskapens gräns, gränsens vetande – en fenomenologisk undersökning av transcendens och kroppslighet, Södertörn Philosophical Studies # 6 (Södertörn U, 2010). Kroppslighetens mystik: filosofiska läsningar av Mechthild von Magdeburg (Volante, 2015). Det omätbaras renässans – en uppgörelse med pedanternas världsherravälde (Volante, 2018) http://volante.se/forfattare-o... . Horisonten tar aldrig slut: om det bortglömda professionella omdömet (UP). She is editor of 13 anthologies and has published more than 50 articles. She has organized 21 conferences and workshops (15 international and 6 Swedish) and has made more than 60 television and radio appearances. She received the 2019 Humanistpriset, the 2018 Per Beskow Prize, and the 2010 Artos and Norma Publication and Award from the Swedish Royal Academy (Stina and Erik Lundberg Foundation).
Day 3: Thursday August 27
10:10-10:30: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer and the lecture theme
10:30-11:45: Lecture “The Basis of History.”
WATCH IT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Hans Ruin is Professor of Philosophy, Södertörn University (Stockholm) https://www.sh.se/english/sode... , and the founder of Södertörn’s philosophy department. Main research interests: phenomenology, hermeneutics, deconstruction, and philosophy of history and memory. Organized the multidisciplinary research program “Time, Memory and Representation” (RJ 2010-2016). Co-editor of Nietzsche’s collected works in Swedish. First book (PhD dissertation): Enigmatic Origins. Tracing the Theme of Historicity Through Heidegger's Works (Stockholm, 1994). Recent books: Being with the dead. Burial, ancestral politics and the roots of historical consciousness (Stanford UP, 2019) https://www.sup.org/books/titl... and Reduktion och reflektion. Inledning till Husserls fenomenologi (Stockholm, 2020). He is co-founder and former president of the Nordic Society for Phenomenology.
14:15-14:20: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer
14:20-14:50: Mini-lecture “The Sense of History in the Work of Peter Märkli.”
WATCH IT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Elizabeth B. Hatz, architect, critic, and art curator, is teaching at KTH Stockholm and SAUL Limerick. She is a board member of Färgfabriken, Stockholm, a contemporary art gallery and platform for cultural investigations of art, architecture, and urban design, and was instrumental for its formation https://fargfabriken.se/en/. She is a member of the Royal Academy of Agriculture and Forestry, and was on the Strategic Board of the National Museum in Stockholm. Curator of “Line, Light, Locus,” installation of architectural drawings at the 16th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia 2018 https://drawingmatter.bigcarte... . She has been on the jury for Falu Rödfärg Prize since its inception in 2002 https://falurodfarg.com/catego... . She curated ev+a 2010, entitled “Matters”, Ireland’s pre-eminent art event, with 59 artists from 14 countries in 11 different venues.
Day 4: Friday August 28
10:10-10:30: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer and the lecture theme
10:30-11:45: Lecture “The Basis of Program.”
WATCH IT HERE: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Malins talk starts at 34:00
Malin Zimm is an architect Ph.D. and editor-in-chief at Sweden’s architecture magazine Arkitektur. Zimm has worked as research and analysis strategist at White arkitekter and as Senior Advisor in Architecture at ArkDes (formerly the Swedish Museum of Architecture), as well as editor-in-chief of the architecture magazine Rum. Zimm completed her doctorate studies at KTH School of Architecture in 2005 with the thesis Losing the Plot – Architecture and Narrativity in Fin-de-Siècle Media Cultures, investigating pre-digital virtual architectures as found in literature and early cinema from late 19th Century. https://www.diva-portal.org/sm...; Her research interests include representations of architecture in literature, the intersection between architecture and the senses, and the development of the subject of architecture in relation to society, technology, and media cultures.
Day 5: Monday August 31
10:05-11:00: Lecture “The Basis of Type.”
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Peter Lynch, KTH Guest Professor, organizer of “The Most Basic Things,” has run his own architecture studio since 1991 in New York, Hong Kong/Shenzhen, Beijing, and now Stockholm. Building Culture PLA focuses on applied research in architecture, urbanism, and building technology: www.buildingculture.se. He attended The Cooper Union School of Architecture from 1979-1984 and was a student of John Hejduk. He received the 2004-2005 Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome. He was Head of the Cranbrook Architecture Department from 1996-2005 and Stuckeman Visiting Professor at Penn State University in 2015. He has taught at Harvard GSD, Columbia University, Rhode Island School of Design, Parsons School of Design, and The City College of New York. He has lectured and offered design workshops in South Korea, China, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the US. Essays and papers available on www.academia.edu
11:15-12:00: Mini-lecture “The Working Material of Architecture and Music.” Lecturer: Peter Lynch.
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
13:00-13:45: Conversation #1: Katja Grillner and Peter Lynch discuss “The Notion of Critical Design Practice.”
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Katja Grillner is Professor of Critical Studies in Architecture, Head of Department at KTH School of Architecture (2019-) https://www.kth.se/profile/gri... . Her research on architecture and landscape combines theoretical, historical and literary strategies for spatial exploration. Selected book publications: PhD-dissertation Ramble, Linger and Gaze – Philosophical Dialogues in the Landscape Garden (Stockholm: KTH 2000). Main editor 01-AKAD – Experimental Research in Architecture and Design (Stockholm: AxlBooks, 2005), Co-editor, Architecture and Authorship (London: Black Dog, 2007). From 2011 to 2015, Director of Architecture in Effect, a national initiative for a strong research environment funded by Formas 2011-2017 http://architectureineffect.se... . Cofounder, feminist architecture teaching and research group FATALE http://fatalearchitecture.blog... .
14:15-15:00: Conversation #2: Kyna Leski and Peter Lynch discuss “Beginning Design Pedagogies.” Kyna Leski is professor, Department of Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design; Principal, 3Six0 Architecture & Design; and author, The Storm of Creativity (MIT Press, 2015). For full bio see above.
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
15:30-16:15: Conversation #3: Thordis Arrhenius and Mikael Bergquist discuss “RE-Pedagogics.”
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Thordis Arrhenius, Associate Professor at KTH, is an architect and postdoctoral researcher https://www.kth.se/profile/thordis?l=en. Her teaching, practice and research is focused on contemporary critical issues in heritage and urbanism. Her publications include The Fragile Monument, on Conservation and Modernity (Artifice books on Architecture, 2012) and Experimental Preservation (Lars Müller Publisher, 2016). She was educated at KTH, the Academy of Fine Arts Copenhagen, and the Architectural Association London. Her teaching and research is characterized by a dedication to contemporary critical issues in heritage and urbanism where the historical perspective informs actions and strategies. With Mikael Bergquist, she co-teaches advanced design studio "RE" at KTH Architecture https://issuu.com/kth-arkitekt... .
Mikael Bergquist is an architect and Lecturer at KTH https://www.kth.se/profile/mbe..., living and working in Stockholm. Educated at KTH and the Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. Started his own office in 1996: www.mba.nu. Editor and curator of numerous books and exhibitions. Latest published book: Josef Frank: Villa Carlsten, (Park Books, 2019). Participated in the Alternative Histories exhibition in London, Brussels, Dublin 2019-20. With Thordis Arrhenius, he co-teaches advanced design studio "RE" at KTH Architecture https://issuu.com/kth-arkitekt... .
16:30-17:15: Conversation #4: Per Johansson and Peter Lynch discuss “Meaning, Intention, Method.”
Watch it here: https://www.facebook.com/navsw...
Per Johansson holds a PhD in human ecology and PhD in the history of ideas, and is a prominent cultural critic and public philosopher in Sweden https://diakrino-perjohansson.... senior lecturer, researcher, and educational leader in human ecology at Lund University. Co-founder of think tank Infontology, which since 2003 monitors and analyzes the digital world's impact on society and culture. He is best known for podcast conversations that inquire into cultural-historical and philosophical questions. With radio programmer Eric Schüldt, he is co-creator and co-host of “Myter och mysterier,” http://www.myterochmysterier.s..., and is a frequent interlocutor with host Navid Modiri in the podcast series "Hur kan vi?" https://www.hurkanvi.se/
Day 6: Tuesday September 1
10:40-12:00: Mini-lecture “Parallel Projection Drawing: The Image of Thought.” Lecturer: Peter Lynch.
13:30-14:00: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer and the lecture theme
14:00-15-15: Lecture “The Basis of Drawing.”
Beate Hølmebakk runs the architectural practice manthey kula together with partner Per Tamsen. http://www.mantheykula.no/ manthey kula’s production spans from ideal, explorative projects to public commissions. The office’s work is widely published; it is presented in several international architecture exhibitions and represented in several international architecture collections. Projects by manthey kula were nominated for the Mies van der Rohe Award in 2009, 2011 and 2019. Hølmebakk studied architecture at the Oslo School of Architecture under Sverre Fehn and Christian Norberg-Schulz, and as a visiting student at The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union under John Hejduk. Hølmebakk has taught at The Oslo School of Architecture and Design since 2007. Since 2019 she is Professor in Architecture, the chair formerly held by Per Olaf Fjeld and Sverre Fehn. She has had several international teaching positions and lectures frequently outside Norway. Among other venues she has lectured at the Barbican, Harvard GSD, the Cass, Kingston University, Cornell University, Hong Kong University, and Politecnico di Milano.
Day 7: Wednesday September 2
No public lectures or events
Day 8: Thursday September 3
10:10-10:30: Peter Lynch introduces the lecturer and the lecture theme
10:30-11:45: Lecture “The Basis of Landscape.”
Stanislaus Fung is a researcher in landscape architecture and architecture who has written extensively on Chinese landscape architecture and architecture in both traditional and contemporary contexts. He is best known for his close readings of Yuan ye, the 17th-century Chinese treatise on gardens, and for new analyses of Suzhou gardens that realigned the experience of spatial depth and scale to the sensibilities of Chinese painting. He is currently Associate Professor of Architecture at the Chinese University of Hong Kong http://www.arch.cuhk.edu.hk/pe... and Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at Harvard University. He has previously held teaching positions in Australia (in the University of Adelaide and the University of New South Wales) and in America (in the University of Pennsylvania). Recent publication: “Memory, Direct Experience and Expectation: The Contemporary and the Chinese Landscape” in Thinking the Contemporary Landscape, edited by Christophe Girot and Dora Imhof (Princeton Architectural Press, 2016). https://papress.com/products/t...
Day 9: Friday September 4
No public lectures or conversations
Arr: KTH och NAV
Med stöd från Nacka Kommun
