052-1141-23L  Architectural Design V-IX: Redesigning Museums (A.Caruso)

Courses

Number	Title	Hours		Lecturers
052-1141-23 U	Architectural Design V-IX: Redesigning Museums (A.Caruso) No course on 24/25.10 (seminar week).	16 hrs	Tue 09:45-17:30 ONA E 25 » Wed 08:00-17:30 ONA E 25 »	A. Caruso

Catalogue data

Abstract	This semester we will redesign the museum, making projects that test the capacity of architecture to address historic bias in the content of museums, and social exclusion in their buildings. Guided by past and present disruptors in the art world, we will make concrete proposals to ‘hack’ both the organisation as well as the architecture of three Zurich museums.
Learning objective	Qualification to control the design process increasingly independent and with sole responsibility and to find to an individual design methodology and attitude.
Content	The last forty years have been a great success for museums and for museum architects. Never have so many of these institutions been constructed in so many different places. Their popularity reflects the global expansion of tourism and the pressure for cities and towns to develop their attractions. The financialization of art has meant that as collectors and their collections have immeasurably expanded, so too must the provision of museums. Zurich has three significant examples of this phenomenon; Museum Rietberg (Grazioli and Krischanitz 2007), the Löwenbräu Areal (Gigon Guyer 2014) and the Kunsthaus (Chipperfield 2020) Each was expanded and restructured in response to specific conditions, yet all are part of this general global tendency. Whilst museum extensions are always sold as being about making more of the collection accessible to a wider public (and thanks to the support of generous benefactors), in the last decade the critique of these platitudes has intensified. The continued elitism of most cultural institutions, both in terms of their staff and their audiences, the racism and sexism inherent in their collections and institutional structures, and the nefarious origins of their collections, are now impossible to avoid and museums themselves have acknowledged that things must change. So, what can we do about a problem like museums? We could just blow them up and start again, but that would not be very sustainable, and confronting historical problems is always more productive than erasing them. This semester we will redesign the museum, making projects that test the capacity of architecture to address historic bias in the content of museums, and social exclusion in their buildings. We will not embark on a search for the ideal museum but will rather closely engage with the trio of Zurich museums; talking to the people who run them, participating as visitors in their exhibitions and programmes. Guided by past and present disruptors in the art world, for example, the Guerrilla Girls (1985-), Group Material (1979-96), and ruangrupa (2000-) we will make concrete proposals to ‘hack’ both the organisation as well as the architecture of the museums. Our aim is to make projects where the museum and its collections more closely reflect and engage with the societies that they are a part of - with the community of Zurich in 2023.
Prerequisites / Notice	The integrated discipline Construction is included in this course. Group work only. Introduction: 19 September 2023, 9.30 am, location to be announced Intermediate crits: 18.10 / 21.11. / 22.11. (TBC) Final crits: 19. / 20.12.23 Extra costs: Approx. CHF 100.-- per student (estimated costs, without possible seminar week costs)
Competencies	Subject-specific Competencies Concepts and Theories assessed Techniques and Technologies assessed Method-specific Competencies Analytical Competencies assessed Decision-making assessed Media and Digital Technologies assessed Problem-solving assessed Project Management assessed Social Competencies Communication assessed Cooperation and Teamwork assessed Customer Orientation fostered Leadership and Responsibility fostered Self-presentation and Social Influence fostered Sensitivity to Diversity assessed Negotiation assessed Personal Competencies Adaptability and Flexibility assessed Creative Thinking assessed Critical Thinking assessed Integrity and Work Ethics assessed Self-awareness and Self-reflection assessed Self-direction and Self-management fostered

Performance assessment

Performance assessment information (valid until the course unit is held again)
Performance assessment as a semester course
ECTS credits	14 credits
Examiners	A. Caruso
Type	graded semester performance
Language of examination	English
Repetition	Repetition possible without re-enrolling for the course unit.
Additional information on mode of examination	Ultimate deadline for changing enrolments for this course is 1.11.2023, 24:00 h. After this date it is strictly forbidden to enrol for the course or to delete the enrolment!

Learning materials

Groups

Restrictions

General

: Special students and auditors need a special permission from the lecturers

Offered in

Programme	Section	Type
Architecture Bachelor	Architectural Design (from 5. Semester on)	W