Page 36 - Are-You-a-Model?

15:05 Alberto Calderoni University of Naples
What we have learned, so far
Architectural design pedagogy raises many ques- tions in relation to the technological tools. These are necessarily medium, means of communication and translation of the notions and issues to be transmit- ted to the students. The meaning of what is taught is closely linked to the limits of the tools used. The physical model, in its different scales and in differ- ent materials, is a cold medium [McLuhan, 1967]: it conforms critical space yet it allows ideas to freely flow since it does not state but it alludes. Models are allusive objects, they ask to be approached using their physical presence to convey possible mean- ings that refer – through similarities – to references without reference in which the reference is needed to be sought [Jullien, 2019]. Starting from the per- sonal pedagogical research carried out by the au- thor in recent years in various design studios at the University of Naples “Federico II”, a research project was launched, which resulted in the first issue of the international journal STOÀ, entitled Models. A number of architects, professors in international schools (including Nicolai Bo Andersen, Asli Cicek, An Fonteyne, Anne Holtrop, Renato Rizzi, Takero Shimazaki, Annette Spiro, Jurjen Zeinstra and many others) were questioned about their teaching prac- tices mediated by physical models, their orientations and cultural references, and how architectural mod- els are fundamental tools for teaching architecture. The presented result is a survey of some teaching practices that have at their centre physical models, never intended as objects of representation but always used as living and active elements for the teaching of design.
15:25 Holger Zaunstöck Francke Foundations Halle
What am I, actually? the model of the Halle orphanage (1719/20)
The Orphanage of the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale) was built between 1698 and 1701. A model of the structure and the adjoining buildings of the lower courtyard (1709 – 1717) was produced in the winter of 1719/20. In its disassembled state, the model represents the different functionalities of the various buildings. Additionally, some of the rooms in the model still retain their miniature interiors. Be- ginning in 1741, it became part of the then newly established Cabinet of Artefacts and Natural Cu- riosities (the so-called Wunderkammer) located in the lower mansard roof of the Orphanage. From the very beginning, the Cabinet was open to the public for guided tours. The model itself is still located in this early museum space today. However, no written sources on the model have survived. Chronological- ly, it was created between the construction of the buildings and the conceptualisation of the Cabinet. This circumstance poses a pivotal question: What was the purpose of the model at all? The presenta- tion will try to answer this by pursuing different approaches: by looking at its contexts, materiality, and possible applications. Therefore, the paper will ask to whom it could have been shown for what purposes. However, the main goal will be to carve out plausible practices of how the model was used in different situations of communication and within object-settings. This leads towards an answer, or, more appropriate, a suggestion for answering the question: What am I, actually?
Alberto Calderoni is a researcher in Architectural and Urban Design at the University of Naples “Federico II”. His research topics are mainly related to the study of the city, of the pro- ject as a tool for knowledge of reality and of pedagogy for architectural design. Since 2021 he is editor in chief of the magazine STOÀ, a journal that aims at combining academic research and teaching practices.
Since 2016, Holger Zaunstöck is head of the Administrative Department Research and the “Dr. Liselotte Kirchner-Fellow- ship Programme” at the Francke Foundations Halle. Zaun- stöck studied history, social history, and economics at the Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg (1993 M.A.; 1998 PhD; 2008 Habilitation). In 2014, he was appointed as extraor- dinary professor. More recently, he has worked on the history of collections, architecture, medicine, youth, and Pietism.
36 FRIDAY, 4.11.22 ARE YOU A MODEL?