D4_Design 4 (Cooperation with Course Dspec_Design of specialised Topics)
Exercise 6.Semester

Alexandra Stingl-Enge + Ernst Dengg (IAT Timber)
Jonas Klaaßen + Gernot Parmann (ITE)

Islands
Lightweight architecture for remote locations 

In art history, islands have long functioned as sites of longing. They project our ideas of the primal and the wild, and not infrequently reproduce colonial narratives or aesthetic clichés. Canonical examples include Paul Gauguin’s South Seas paintings or the adventures of Robinson Crusoe. Such works often reveal more about their authors and their historical context than about the islands they depict. As architects, we produce places—and imaginaries. At times, our position collides with the desires of commissioning clients and with reality on the ground. This semester we focus on a specific island south of Graz: a field station is designed to support research on the surrounding body of water. The ecosystem is seasonally endangered by human impacts and at risk of tipping out of balance. Through a transport- and assembly-optimised architecture, we aim to meet the site’s tectonic and logistical demands. In parallel, we approach our own imaginaries of the island through painting, and generate digital images.

Topic presentation: Feb. 26, 10 a.m., HS G, Kopernikusgasse 24, 3. OG