Dans l’univers des thèses, un compas théorique. Un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin publié dans les cahiers de la recherche architecturale et urbaine
Dans l’univers des thèses, un compas théorique. Un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin publié dans les cahiers de la recherche architecturale et urbaine

This article presents a mode of orientation in the variety of objects and the tumult of definitions of the architecture thesis. A doctoral colloquium on the return of ornament in contemporary practices, in May 2013 at the University of Montreal, confirmed, if confirmation were needed, that the same questioning could give rise to a surprising heterogeneity of epistemological aims 1. A comparison of twelve approaches from major North American, European, and South American schools, made it possible to outline and test a first version of a mode of categorization of theses. In September 2013, this model was put to the test of the sixty or so texts selected for the second « Rencontres doctorales en architecture » at the École nationale supérieure de Paris-Belleville. This « compass of theses and theoretical aims » must however be understood as a hypothesis subject to epistemological debate.

REFERENCE:

Jean-Pierre Chupin, « Dans l’univers des thèses, un compas théorique », Les Cahiers de la recherche architecturale et urbaine [En ligne], 30/31 | 2014, mis en ligne le 14 septembre 2017, consulté le 16 octobre 2021.
URL : http://journals.openedition.org/crau/370 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/crau.370

Ceci n’est pas un nid : Métaphores transculturelles et politique paradoxale des compétitions internationales, un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin publié dans le Footprint, Delft Architectural Theory Journal
Ceci n’est pas un nid : Métaphores transculturelles et politique paradoxale des compétitions internationales, un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin publié dans le Footprint, Delft Architectural Theory Journal

Although the architecture competition has been analysed through a number of rhetorical lenses, the recurring production of transcultural metaphors, particularly in international competitions, remains to be addressed as a genuine disciplinary phenomenon. The hypothesis of competitions as contact zones is particularly appropriate for the study of international events, in which competitors forge broad analogical figures to bridge cultural differences. Recent studies in the cognitive understanding of analogical matrices have considerably reinforced the theories on metaphors. Our analytical grid characterizes analogical matrices to identify levels of symbolic operations through the differentiation of formal, structural and conceptual analogies. We first dig into a sample of competition projects nicknames (Crystal, Birds’Nest, DNA, Cloud, Lace, Stealth, etc.) to confirm that these tropes have a paradoxical status at the intersection of architects’ intents and the public expectations. We then summarize an in-depth hermeneutical discourse analysis of 40 North American international competitions. This indicates a fourfold series of expectations to which competitors hope to provide answers in an international ‘conflict of interpretations’. Adhering to the theory of speech acts, we suggest that performative metaphors in competitions appear less as indicators of designers’ intentions than as products of the broader context surrounding competitions themselves. We conclude with a proposed grid indexing four types of contact zones in which metaphorical relationships are actively created and not just repeated.

REFERENCE:

Chupin J.-P., This is Not a Nest: Transcultural Metaphors and the Paradoxical Politics of International Competitions, in Footprint, Delft Architectural Theory Journal, #26, Vol. 14. #1 Spring 2020, pp. 63-82.
https://doi.org/10.7480/footprint.14.1.3835

Réinventer l’attente du bus (Principes de conception pour les espaces environnant les abribus), un ouvrage en libre accès de Carmella Cucuzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Emmanuel Rondia et Sherif Goubran
Réinventer l’attente du bus (Principes de conception pour les espaces environnant les abribus), un ouvrage en libre accès de Carmella Cucuzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Emmanuel Rondia et Sherif Goubran

Reimagining Waiting for the Bus is an open access book edited by Carmela Cucuzzella, Jean-Pierre Chupin, Emmanuel Rondia and Sherif Goubran published by Potential Architecture Books (Montreal, 2021).

This creative guide, the result of an international competition, is a synthesis of the best ideas in the form of a free resource aimed at stimulating citizen discussion and community group engagement around the improvement of small urban environments connected to bus stops.

This richly illustrated, educational guide presents ideas that encourage appreciation of urban spaces by emphasizing the importance of nature, art and design. Reimagining Waiting for the Bus invites citizens to think about creative approaches, neighborhood by neighborhood, bus stop by bus stop, that would energize these public spaces in an interactive, poetic, critical and meaningful way: shifting the immediate environment of bus stops from a merely functional spatiality to a multi-purpose spatiality.

This is not about redesigning the bus shelter, but about making waiting for the bus more pleasant, in various ways, encouraging citizens to use the bus instead of their car, all year round, including during hot summer days and long periods of freezing winter.

The ideas extracted from projects from many countries are not presented as solutions but as illustrated principles gathered in 5 vectors going from culture to social dimensions, from ecological concerns to technological innovations and, in general, to everything that can increase the feeling of well-being.

The result of a research and creation process, this guide aims to encourage citizens to take hold of these often neglected spaces in which waiting should be given all the attention necessary to enhance public transport.

REFERENCE:

Cucuzzella, C., Chupin J.-P., Rondia, E., Goubran, S., (2021), Reimagining Waiting for the Bus, Montréal, Potential Architecture Books, 139 pages. ISBN 9781988962054

Trois types de stratégies d’éducation architecturale (SEA) dans les bâtiments durables pour les environnements d’apprentissage au Canada, un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin, Morteza Hazbei et Karl-Antoine Pelchat
Trois types de stratégies d’éducation architecturale (SEA) dans les bâtiments durables pour les environnements d’apprentissage au Canada, un article de Jean-Pierre Chupin, Morteza Hazbei et Karl-Antoine Pelchat

This article explores a trend provisionally called “eco-didacticism” observable for nearly 15 years in art, design and architecture. The corpus concentrates on learning centres as buildings meant to diffuse advanced knowledge in the field of sustainable architecture. We found evidence of additional educational intentions to the pedagogical or scientific programs that these buildings have already been mandated to host and support. A variety of practices or devices have sometimes been added to the architecture, sometimes integrated, while others determine the overall structuring of these educational buildings. Seven cases of “learning centres” built in Canada between 2004 and 2018 have been screened through three epistemological filters distinguishing forms of “architectural didactics”: 1—a labeling often quantitative approach, 2—an experiential or practical approach, 3—a visually narrative or iconic approach. While outlining definitions of these Architectural Educational Strategies (AES), we offer initial explanations for their distinctive features. It appears that architects, designers and critics altogether operate on the belief that forms of architectural communication can operate as elements of a language that would be accessible to non-experts. Our conclusion indicates how future research could question the very possibility of giving lessons through formal language and aesthetic features.

 

REFERENCE:

Chupin, J. P., Hazbei, M., & Pelchat, K. A. (2021). Three Types of Architectural Educational Strategies (AES) in Sustainable Buildings for Learning Environments in Canada. Sustainability13(15), 8166. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158166

« Quand Boston n’est pas Boston : Les mensonges utiles des modèles de jeu reconstructifs » écrit par Aurélien Catros et Maxime Leblanc, respectivement candidats au doctorat en Architecture à l’UdeM et à McGill
« Quand Boston n’est pas Boston : Les mensonges utiles des modèles de jeu reconstructifs » écrit par Aurélien Catros et Maxime Leblanc, respectivement candidats au doctorat en Architecture à l’UdeM et à McGill

Using qualitative comparative analysis, this article assesses how faithfully the reconstructive game models (RGMs) used in video games simulate historic cities. Employing Kevin Lynch’s concept of imageability, it looks in particular at similarities and differences between a 1775 map of Boston and the RGM of the city featured in Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed III. By comparing the construction of landmarks, paths, nodes, edges and districts within the game model to the historic conditions recorded on the map, it demonstrates that a feeling of verisimilitude is achieved not through complete accuracy but through specific combinations of sufficiently accurate historic elements. Based on these findings, it discusses the theoretical implications of designing RGMs and sheds light on the use of architectural heritage reconstitutions as an educational component in video games.

 

REFERENCE:

Catros, Aurélien and Leblanc, Maxime, “When Boston Isn’t Boston: Useful Lies of Reconstructive Game Models”, Traditional Dwellings and Settlements Review (TDSR), VOLUME XXXII, # II, 2021, 23-37.

ARC2104 : Plan de cours (hiver 2021)
ARC2104 : Plan de cours (hiver 2021)
Article dans FOOTPRINT (Delft Architecture Theory Journal) #26 (2020) : « This is not a Nest: Transcultural Metaphors and the Paradoxical Politics of International Competitions »

 

This is Not a Nest: Transcultural Metaphors and the Paradoxical Politics of International Competitions

Jean-Pierre Chupin, Université de Montréal

Published in:

Footprint, Delft Architectural Theory Journal, issue #26, Vol 14, n1, Spring 2020. Pages: 63-82

 

 

Although the architecture competition has been analysed through a number of rhetorical lenses, the recurring production of transcultural metaphors, particularly in international competitions, remains to be addressed as a genuine disciplinary phenomenon. The hypothesis of competitions as contact zones is particularly appropriate for the study of international events, in which competitors forge broad analogical figures to bridge cultural differences. Recent studies in the cognitive understanding of analogical matrices have considerably reinforced the theories on metaphors. Our analytical grid characterises analogical matrices to identify levels of symbolic operations through the differentiation of formal, structural and conceptual analogies. We first dig into a sample of competition project nicknames (Crystal, Bird’s Nest, DNA, Cloud, Lace, Stealth, etc.) to confirm that these tropes have a paradoxical status at the intersection of architects’ intents and public expectations. We then summarise an in-depth hermeneutical discourse analysis of forty North American international competitions. This indicates a fourfold series of expectations to which competitors hope to provide answers in an international ‘conflict of interpretations’. Adhering to the theory of speech acts, we suggest that performative metaphors in competitions appear less as indicators of designers’ intentions than as products of the broader context surrounding competitions themselves. We conclude with a proposed grid indexing four types of contact zones in which metaphorical relationships are actively created and not just repeated.

Keywords: International Competitions, Analogies, Metaphors, Analogical Matrices, Discourse Analysis, Speech Acts

ARC2104 : Plan de cours (hiver 2020)
ARC2104 : Plan de cours (hiver 2020)
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Chupin, Jean-Pierre, G. Stanley Collyer, Young Architects in Competitions (When Competitions and a New Generation of Ideas Elevate Architectural Quality), Montreal, Potential Architecture Books, 2020. 158 pages.(epub)