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Argjirë Krasniqi’s thesis selected for the Kosovar entry for the 2020 Venice Biennale.

“Having barely posted the announcement of Katarzyna (Kasia) MALINOWSKA’s award, I am pleased to share the news that yet another of the top students graduating from the arCsusLab design studio (2019-2020), has been honored recently in a special way.
Argjirë Krasniqi’s Master Dissertation was selected for the Kosovar entry for the 2020 Biennale of Venice: https://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/2020/national-participations

Following statement was sent to me:
On this pavilion called CONTAINPORARY curated by Belgium based Kosovo Albanian architect and artist Maksut Vezgishi, various projects taken out from the CONTAINER will be presented as a reflection of country’s degraded cities. Argjirë’ s Master Dissertation project will be one of them as well, intending to show the remains around the container which offer new possibilities of use, spaces for experimentation, socialisation, reflection, activism, hope, new ideas and purposes”.

Her work will get exposure in the Kosovar Biennale catalogue and she will contribute to the layout of the pavilion and be part of the representative team. Congratulations!

Argjirë Krasniqi conducted her Master Dissertation track within the KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture’s International Master Program, Campus Sint-Lucas Ghent (MAIG42 – 2018-2019). This particular curriculum, currently renamed as ‘Resilient and Sustainable Strategies’, addresses various issues of the Debate on Sustainability as approached from the perspective of Architecture and ‘Research by Design’.

As academic supervisor of her master dissertation design project within my arCsus (architecture – CULTURE – sustainability) research Lab, I am pleased to mention that from my ten master dissertation students, Argjirë obtained the highest score from both the external jury and myself. As her mentor, it was a true pleasure to ‘coach’ her throughout her Master Dissertation design project entitled:
RUIN-CARNATING JANJEVA IN KOSOVO: Designing spatio-cultural scenographies reconnecting the ‘warchitectures’ of a township in dormancy to ressurective space-time concepts honoring local children’s archetypal imageries.

This Master Dissertation is a studious journey to literally attempt to awaken one of the many Kosovar townships and village settlements from a distinct postwar spatio-cultural and economical dormancy. Based on an extensive contextual research, supported by multiple and synergetic fieldwork excursions, she enabled herself not only to connect very strongly with the local people of Janjeva, but excelled in transforming what truly matters to them into various innovative actions from the perspective of the socio-cultural role of the designer. From conceptual over design-based to materialization of her ideas, Argjire delivered a master dissertation that actually exceeds the usual level of an undergraduate master thesis. Indeed, the transdisciplinary quality of her work equals the level of a predoctoral paper. In so doing she is strongly encouraged to rewrite her master dissertation topic as PhD proposal.

Without any doubt this exceptionally high valued project will also act as ‘best practice’ and benchmark to trigger and upscale the quality of my future students. In 2017, I have transformed my residence, the M2M House at Lokeren into the arCsus Lab@home  (see post Katarzyna Malinowska).

For a pictorial overview of her master dissertation ‘work in progress’, see arCsus Lab presentation, Reflection paper, sketching book and video presentation.”

Prof.dr. Arch. Marc Dujardin on behalf of the arCsusLab team.