MEMES  2.0

 

WINTER TERM 2022/23
UNDERGRADUATE DESIGN STUDIO @ ./STUDIO3 - INSTITUTE FOR
EXPERIMENTAL ARCHITECTURE 
UNIVERSITY OF INNSBRUCK, AUSTRIA

︎ SUPERVISORS | SO@P (UWE BRUNNER & DOMINIC SCHWAB).
︎ STUDENTS | ALBERT GAUNER, ANNABELL SPAANS, CHRISTIAN REHNISCH, JULIA MUSCHLER, JULIA ZECH, THERESA POHL, TOBIAS MILDNER.
︎ PRESS & LINKS |  YOUTUBE, INSTAGRAM.

With the advancing presence of digital spaces in the form of social media, a significant portion of our social activities has shifted to virtual realms. Memes have become one of the most creative and vibrant languages of digital communication in the 21st century. Through the cultural practices of copying, sampling, overlaying, recoding, and sharing, memes become assemblages of sociocultural articulation.




Memes always engage with culturally pre-formed content. Through intertextuality and decontextualization as fundamental principles, new meaning relations are assembled, layered, overlaid, and continually rearranged from references and cross-references. In this design studio, students collectively adopted the production model of meme culture as a method of transforming iconic buildings, approaching a speculative architectural practice in the context of current internet and communication culture.

I: SAMPLING

The design studio focused particularly on the methodology of "sampling." According to Eduardo Navas, "sampling as an act [...] is essentially what happens in any form of mechanical recording—whether copying by taking a photo or extracting part of an object or subject, such as a part of a leaf to examine
it under a microscope." The students’ investigation focused on a series of iconic buildings. They meticulously dissected these buildings, analyzing their qualities in detail and depth, isolating key aspects. Subsequently, they integrated their findings into a collective database, laying the groundwork for new architectural speculations.


II: ARS COMBINATORIA

The concept of Ars Combinatoria played a central role in the second step. Max Bense recognizes that, in the act of combining, imagination has replaced pure cognition, seeing it as a fundamentally experimental process that creates "small models of seeing things in a different way." The design process, characterized mainly by serial and copy-like work, focused on a playful approach to the composition of geometry, texture, ornament, and function. Impulsiveness and naivety as design catalysts contributed to a refreshing authenticity.



III: STAGING

The third step in the methodological chain involved the concept of 'staging.' Here, the architectures generated through sampling and Ars Combinatoria were placed within specific contexts. This final stage aimed to connect the uniqueness and significance of each individual project. This contextualization involved testing the designs in different spatial scenarios and intentionally adapting the architectural style to host selected communities. Ultimately, this process allowed for the integration of spatial "micro-narratives," enriching the vibrancy of the architectural design.