Initiatives / Experiments / Visions
Manifesto of Architectural Autonomy
Project description
What are the main problems that we solve through architecture? Which global issues we consider most important that we should pay attention to when planning our buildings?The complexity of the contemporary world pushes the architect to take on a problem-based attitude. Nowadays we do not just make buildings anymore but we also focus on their global impact, we anticipate social scenarios, and seek multidisciplinary implications. However, while considering all these aspects, we are drifting away from the physical condition and the materiality of the buildings. Even if we aim incredibly high and assume the most ambitious goals, our attempts of solving them come down to some very tangible decisions. As a matter of fact, in our architectural battles fought for a better world the set of weapons at our disposal mainly consists of some simple architectural elements. Supported by politics and technology, we must build columns and beams to let all our laudable causes come into being.Our manifesto is a reflection on the status that our profession is reaching these days. We do not want to simply criticize these wide horizons, nevertheless, we do believe that the sociological, ecological or cultural problems cannot overlap the core issues of a single object. In midst of our split focus, we tend to pay less attention to our architectural toolbox. Let us bring its importance back.To highlight this problem, our installation addresses the fundamental role of the architectural profession, that is, the act of building and creating space. As architects we have to recognize that the experience of a room, as well as the quantifiable performance of an edifice, originates purely from the way we address its architectonic aspects, the way we make a wall, a roof or a window.Therefore, we believe that the salvation of architecture of our times may lie in rediscovering the importance of the agency of individual architectonic elements, and in realizing that they may serve as our main tools to make an impact on the world around us. Repeatedly, we do not want to disregard the global problems, rather by making this statement, we want to raise attention on the need to improve our professional skills necessary for building a better world.Inspired by Hello Wood’s drive to do something more for society, this structure is a tower dedicated to the different elements that every piece of architecture must have: a door, windows, a roof, stairs. Hanging on this tower - which also acts as an observation tower - are representations of each of these components, representing a sort of unavoidable autonomy that architects must deal with by the very nature of their work. These facets are the foundation of every structure, and that is an architect’s manifesto.
Author's presentation text
Agnieszka RośGraduated at Warsaw University of Technology in 2018, diploma thesis on Darkness in Architecture, design of astronomical observatory in Izera Mountain in Poland. Practicing in architecture offices in Poland, Switzerland and Israel. Recently based in Warsaw.Szabolcs EgyedGraduated at the Polytechnic University of Timisoara in 2015. Since then I have been gaining work experience in Romania, Italy and Switzerland. Currently working as a freelance architect, based in Bucharest and Miercurea Ciuc.
