Ruins, Ruination, and Reuse

Graduate / Professional

Architectural ruination indexes not only the failure of individual buildings but also of technologies, economies, communities, or, at times, entire civilizations. And yet architecture is rarely discussed in these terms—as a framework of human reality that itself can be damaged or destroyed, thereby producing significant effects on individuals, communities, and nations. This course engages in the study of various forms of ruination from not only the past and present but also the future, through research into the speculative territories of online “ruin porn,” new genres of art practice, and in particular dystopian television and film projects that reveal an intense contemporary interest in apocalyptic themes. The concept of ruination also be used as a philosophical tool to study architecture at its most essential qualities through speculating on where it can be made to fail—and yet still maintain its identity. For instance, would Le Corbusier’s Villa Savoy remain iconic had its piloti been replaced with thin bronze metal Doric columns? Or giant garden gnomes? Students, accordingly, “ruin” architectural icons through visual design interventions. Tutorials are offered on professional matte-painting Photoshop techniques that allow students to produce such visual arguments. The goal of the course is not to convey to the students an existing body of architectural knowledge but to unearth a new architectural discourse that considers architecture in reverse—emphasizing its destruction and decay rather than its creation in an effort to reveal new territories of architectural impact. 3 Course cr F 9:20am-11:15am