Can subjective microcosmos rewrite a city?
Instructor:
Kana Arioka
Engagement:
Craftsmanship
Location:
Gent
Language/Taal:
English
Semester:
Semester 1, Fall 2025
Description/Inhoud:
The studio explores the boundaryless relationship between house and city through an understanding of the perceptual world, UMWELT.
The German biologist Jakob von Uexküll observed that animals live in species-distinct perceptual worlds, which he termed ‘umwelten’ – subjective microcosmos -, carved out of the objective and measurable environment. However, umwelt is more than the notion of immediate surroundings. Uexküll understood that the perceptual characteristics of living things even redefine the larger environment – city -.
In this studio, we all act as behaviourists. The behaviourists set their sights on actions, picking up on attitudes, indications and other faint signals from everyday life.
The subjective microcosmos is depicted through behaviour. The analysis of this behaviour in terms of the actions and attitudes of humans and architecture is brought together to form a new perspective.
Line of inquiry/Onderzoekslijn:
Practice as Study / Working With
Topic, Thematic Focus/Thema:
Perception, attitude, behaviour and ritual
Key Questions or Provocation/ Centrale vragen en provocaties:
The studio introduces the concept of ‘Umwelt’ as a means of understanding human spatial perception. If individual perceptions come together to establish an understanding of the environment, is it possible to create a subjective microcosmos that engages in direct dialogue with the environment?
Students are asked to reflect on the question, ‘CAN SUBJECTIVE MICROCOSMOS REWRITE A CITY?’, by imagining a new cityscape and making their creative gesture visible.
Methodologies or Formats / Methodologie:
The studio consists of three chapters.
Chapter 1: Through the lens of rituals / individual
Chapter 2: Urban dwellers: a ritual from house to city / group of three
Chapter 3: ‘Can subjective microcosmos rewrite a city?’/ individual
Design / Expected Outcome(s) / Ontwerp / Verwachte Resultaten:
Students are expected to develop an authentic approach to small-scale architecture – house – that engages with the larger-scale environment – city -. The main expected outcomes are the visualisation of the concept and the project itself throughout the original set of visual representations.
Deliverables / In te dienen documenten:
Project proposal in different scales and visuals, analogue drawings as the main medium next to well-crafted models, one critical poster drawing as a main representative drawing, booklet that contains the entire process of the exercise.
- Find the full studio brief as pdf here.
Photo: Image from the book ‘1/1000000000′, Hideyuki Nakayama, 2018 LIXIL Publishing