(in)CONSISTENCY

As architects, we are supposed to design l’immeuble, the immobile. Its immobility makes it attractive as a solid investment, as a

guarantee of a stable return in times of temporary insecurity.

But what if - instead of stability - we were looking for ‘a series of movements, flights and transformations’?

What if - instead of formalisation - we looked for moments in time?

What if - we no longer thought in terms of buildings - but in terms of operational systems?

Can we reverse our practice, our thinking, by starting to design a set of activities before thinking about geometric form?

Can a structure be an extension of the human world, in constant adaptation?

Through the notion of inconsistency, we will try to make form appear through processes, to design spaces through their performance.

We will be experimenting, testing, inventing and activating. Of course, we’ll be talking about materials, weight, construction systems, form, technical and technological aspects, and of coruse about our relationship with environment. To begin our research into inconsistency, we will focus on fashion. Fashion is a place of innovation and questioning of social norms in which all the arts come together to transfigure our bodies, our identities and our lives. Fashion is radical because it happens quickly and suddenly. Fashion is reactive. With fashion everything is a whirlwind, a reversal of values and an incessant conceptual inversion. In this issue, we seek to bring together two seemingly antagonistic visions, between the permanence of architecture and the fairground and experimental nature of fashion shows. Without copying fashion, architecture can draw inspiration from the speed with which it spreads, its capacity for transformation and its awareness that it is only a temporary phenomenon. By moving towards greater lightness, it could find new consistencies through the use of light, modular, inflatable and even biodegradable elements. The fragility of ephemeral architecture is only apparent.

Paris - New York - Milan, all are vying for the title of fashion capitals. Their public spaces are being privatised and transformed into catwalks, and we are being seduced. These international events - and they’re not the only ones - are shaping our cities at the expense of what makes things happen, the course of our lives.

What better case study than ‘Milano Spettacolo’ for this topic ?

Your work about inconsistency will take the form of a project that starts with specific research, develops into an idea and then culminates in a concrete spatial project. You will work in groups of two and the semester will be divided into 3 sequences. You will develop iconographic research that will lead you to the construction of active performative devices.

Then, you will be confronted with an ordinary suburban area of Milan, which you will have to transform.

In the final phase, you will bring your research and ideas to life, constructively, technically and spacially.

The aim of the studio is not to look at architecture from an aesthetic point of view, but to use it to tackle societal challenges and improve everyday life.

We are inspired by what is real, and we believe that by making things, we are creating thought. What changes things is the way we watch them, and our programme will train you both to look at things in terms of value and to define ways of transforming them.