Instrumental Shapes & the Reification of Architectural Optimism

The formal project of Shape as loose fit container ofactivity with low-res hard-edge profile anticipatesthe resurrection of objecthood’s primacy, howeverit is yet to be determined when a shape becomesan instrument or instrumental in the developmentof new collective organizations. Pursued througheclectic modes of production demonstrating arange of sensibilities — including but not limited tonarrative, misreadings and misbehaviors, humour,strangeness, cartoon and caricature — the shapelyarchitectural object shows signs of life, flexing itsaesthetic muscles to direct attention towards potentiallynew sensibilities, identities and interactions.This paper seeks to identify and highlight these andother modes of operation as sites of architecturaloptimism and its relationship to contemporaryinstrumentality.

Volume Editors
Urs Peter Flueckiger & Victoria McReynolds

ISBN
978-1-944214-16-6