Riot
Riot

Fall:
In Service Of

2023
In Service Of:
Marseille

EPFL Design Studio BA5, MA1
Course Number AR-301(ah) AR 401(ah)

“The uncanny that disturbs the critical going on above it, the professional going on without it, the uncanny that one can sense in prophecy, the strangely known moment, the gathering content, of a cadence, and the uncanny that one can sense in cooperation, the secret once called solidarity.”

Ruth Wilson Gilmore, in Stefano Harney, The Undercommons : Fugitive Planning & Black Study, ed. Fred Moten, Fugitive Planning & Black Study (New York,Port Watson: Minor Compositions, 2013), 42.

Architecture and design are powerful tools to conjure, materialize and unlock horizons. But who has access to and can afford design? ‘In Service of:...’ is a studio series that seeks to redress uneven access to design and to planning literacy by the majority. To do so, it places architecture as a tool at the service of a place, a population, a narrative,  in order to benefit the common good. In this class, we will  seek to deploy architecture processes “with values and interests different from those of capital.” So, if we admit the identity-shattering pos In that sense, ‘In Service Of: …’ conducts a reflection on architecture as a form of public service. Seeking to ‘detoxifying  narratives’ around architecture and urban design, there shall be no claim of righteousness, but instead an attempt to learn and unlearn from the sites and the people encountered. Architects can no longer claim to be  “the bearers of a compass” or of any absolute truth, and ‘expertise’ is a highly contentious term. construction can never be sustainable, how to respond to housing needs? This studio intends to face the music.So, if we  

Through a comprehensive exploration of the forces (i.e., social, legal, political, economic, cultural, environemental) that generate and control space at first, and then diving into the selected contentious sites, the studio seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the reciprocal relationship between architecture and community, recognizing the potential for design to foster social cohesion, enhance well-being, and contribute to the overall betterment of society. The studio will also conduct a reflection on its own format, to question architecture attachment to solutionism, the expectation to ‘fix problems’ and other tropes that have conducted to socially and spatially unjust developments, such as the massive Euromediterannée project in Marseille. It also seeks to produce works that have utility for active local groups engaged in struggles against gentrification, state violence and expropriation strategies, and unsafe housing to name a few of the questions faced by inhabitants of Marseille.

So, if we admit the identity-shattering posit that construction can never be sustainable, how to respond to housing needs? This studio intends to face the music. By focusing on the idea of being useful without romanticizing the task, this design studio seeks to articulate an agenda for a self-critical architecture with a heightened sense of responsibility and a commitment to creating spaces that truly serve the needs of the people. 

[1] Pedro Fiori Arantes, The Rent of Form: Architecture and Labor in the Digital Age, ed. Adriana Kauffmann et al. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019), 152.

[2] Image Source: Euromediterannée, Construction Updates, First construction on the site of the Fabriques project), Rue Allar 13015 Marseille, 2020.

[3] Guests: Alia Bengana, Bárbara Maçães Costa, Nicolas Memain, Carole Lenoble, Stephane Herpin, Margarida Waco, Ambra Fabi, Guillaume de Morsier, Samia Henni, Marta Stella

[4] Students: Myriam Alhadeff, Suzanne Brun, Amaury Desprez, Antoine Gressier, Melanny Jacome, Briana-Stefania Prelicz, Daniel Wandere, Felix Balling, Marie Bourdon, Adrien Fleischer, David Gindroz, Emilie Hamel, Anna Huasel, Emile Jourcin, uliette Lafrasse, Lea Marzinzik, Adela Mrnjaus, Mohammad Olia, Léo Perrin, Carolina Pichler, Lalie Porteret, Melina Schechinger, Alexandros Trivizas

[5] Living Archives 

[6] Teaching Team: Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Antoine Iweins, Kathlyn Kao; Student Assistants: Paulina Orella Beron, Laure Melati Dekoninck

Fall:
In Service Of

2023
In Service Of:
Marseille

EPFL Design Studio BA5, MA1
Course Number AR-301(ah) AR 401(ah)

“The uncanny that disturbs the critical going on above it, the professional going on without it, the uncanny that one can sense in prophecy, the strangely known moment, the gathering content, of a cadence, and the uncanny that one can sense in cooperation, the secret once called solidarity.”

Ruth Wilson Gilmore, in Stefano Harney, The Undercommons : Fugitive Planning & Black Study, ed. Fred Moten, Fugitive Planning & Black Study (New York,Port Watson: Minor Compositions, 2013), 42.

Architecture and design are powerful tools to conjure, materialize and unlock horizons. But who has access to and can afford design? ‘In Service of:...’ is a studio series that seeks to redress uneven access to design and to planning literacy by the majority. To do so, it places architecture as a tool at the service of a place, a population, a narrative,  in order to benefit the common good. In this class, we will  seek to deploy architecture processes “with values and interests different from those of capital.” So, if we admit the identity-shattering pos In that sense, ‘In Service Of: …’ conducts a reflection on architecture as a form of public service. Seeking to ‘detoxifying  narratives’ around architecture and urban design, there shall be no claim of righteousness, but instead an attempt to learn and unlearn from the sites and the people encountered. Architects can no longer claim to be  “the bearers of a compass” or of any absolute truth, and ‘expertise’ is a highly contentious term. construction can never be sustainable, how to respond to housing needs? This studio intends to face the music.So, if we  

Through a comprehensive exploration of the forces (i.e., social, legal, political, economic, cultural, environemental) that generate and control space at first, and then diving into the selected contentious sites, the studio seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the reciprocal relationship between architecture and community, recognizing the potential for design to foster social cohesion, enhance well-being, and contribute to the overall betterment of society. The studio will also conduct a reflection on its own format, to question architecture attachment to solutionism, the expectation to ‘fix problems’ and other tropes that have conducted to socially and spatially unjust developments, such as the massive Euromediterannée project in Marseille. It also seeks to produce works that have utility for active local groups engaged in struggles against gentrification, state violence and expropriation strategies, and unsafe housing to name a few of the questions faced by inhabitants of Marseille.

So, if we admit the identity-shattering posit that construction can never be sustainable, how to respond to housing needs? This studio intends to face the music. By focusing on the idea of being useful without romanticizing the task, this design studio seeks to articulate an agenda for a self-critical architecture with a heightened sense of responsibility and a commitment to creating spaces that truly serve the needs of the people. 

[1] Pedro Fiori Arantes, The Rent of Form: Architecture and Labor in the Digital Age, ed. Adriana Kauffmann et al. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2019), 152.

[2] Image Source: Euromediterannée, Construction Updates, First construction on the site of the Fabriques project), Rue Allar 13015 Marseille, 2020.

[3] Guests: Alia Bengana, Bárbara Maçães Costa, Nicolas Memain, Carole Lenoble, Stephane Herpin, Margarida Waco, Ambra Fabi, Guillaume de Morsier, Samia Henni, Marta Stella

[4] Students: Myriam Alhadeff, Suzanne Brun, Amaury Desprez, Antoine Gressier, Melanny Jacome, Briana-Stefania Prelicz, Daniel Wandere, Felix Balling, Marie Bourdon, Adrien Fleischer, David Gindroz, Emilie Hamel, Anna Huasel, Emile Jourcin, uliette Lafrasse, Lea Marzinzik, Adela Mrnjaus, Mohammad Olia, Léo Perrin, Carolina Pichler, Lalie Porteret, Melina Schechinger, Alexandros Trivizas

[5] Living Archives 

[6] Teaching Team: Charlotte Malterre-Barthes, Antoine Iweins, Kathlyn Kao; Student Assistants: Paulina Orella Beron, Laure Melati Dekoninck