Borders and boundaries?
Borders and boundaries are often associated in a negative context as something that separates, prevents access and a gateway to development. However, borders do not only divide states, regions or communities - they also interconnect different parts and thus directly influence them.
The development of tourism, travel for work, migration, population growth and the associated urban development are closely linked to borders / limits. Boundaries also define the individual space - where is a person, where is hers intimate space, and where does hers space become public?
Also, the Covid-19 pandemic created boundaries between us, changed views on the functioning of social relations and our lifestyles, and redefined the spaces needed for their realization and development. What attributes define a post-pandemic city? Is it a city of smaller communities and distances, a city of compact, a food self-sufficient city? Is it a digital city, with more control of the population or a city full of greenery? What do these determinants mean for architecture?
The boundary in our understanding represents a positive reversal, a change, a break - it is an interface where we will oscillate in thought. The vertical studio Vitková / Špaček offers the opportunity to look beyond common borders, deviate from them and look for possible scenarios for the development of a city settlement in the context of sustainability and resilience supervision.
Boundaries are essential for the functioning of systems (their internal organization) and their interrelationships. They limit the extent of sustainability of fragments of the settlement structure, they are a framework for the system's resistance to external influences.
The topic of cities and areas within the border regions of Slovakia present a great challegne - depending on the neigbouring area, on the scale, on the function and livability of its surroundings. On an architectural scale, we will focus on the objects of the boundary objects - as the embodiment of the fact that the boundaries are not only or dividing, but hopefully, a connecting element.
Keywords: Sustainability, Resilience, Boundaries, Peripherality
Information about the program can be found on Facebook
Operation of the Studio:
- Emphasis on working with context and environment:
- Links and relations between the studied area and other parts of the city, role of the studied area in the city system (in the agglomeration area of Bratislava)
- Territorial context, linking to centres, center – quarter relation (neighborhood)
- Connection between the area and its environment
- Emphasis on a teamwork: team management and teamwork from the perspective of different positions in the team as the basis of real architectural practice – consultations with experts and professionals, focused on increasing student’s ecological awareness, application of sustainable principles to architectural and urban design
- Emphasis on professional and personal development of studio graduates in terms of:
- A mature professional with an opinion on the future and an effort to solve current challenges/problems, able to think conceptually, create a sustainable environment for people,
- Responsible action towards yourself and others – the basic determinant of chance of thinking and creation is user behaviour
Lecture cycle
Workshops in Banská Štiavnica: December 1st- 6th 2020
Consultations
- group: students will present each other and comment on their work in the form of quick presentation, at regular interval
- individually: will be runned once a week, students are guided to work in the studio for the whole duration as specified in the schedule