Common Field cycle changes its format
The premiere of the conference cycle Common Field curated by Diana Menino and Felipe de Ferrari was scheduled for April 2020. To answer the constraints imposed by the pandemic, the cycle was reinvented and its format was adjusted to the current context. From four conferences to be hosted by the various CCB auditoriums, the cycle became exclusively online through the Volto platform.
In English without translation, these presentations in double sessions combine two experiences and practices with the moderation from the curatorial duo. In common, this field has architecture as an imperative for change, in its relationship with the world, in its methodology and in its appropriation of reality, giving voice to studios recognised for their innovative approaches.
The first moment takes place online on 28 October 2020, at 18h30, in a co-production of the Lisbon Architecture Triennale and Centro Cultural de Belém/ Garagem Sul, opening debate on Cooperation, Reuse and Upcycling, gathering the British founder of the atelier Assemble Jane Hall, and the Swiss architect responsible for the existence of baubüro in situ Barbara Buser. The talk focuses on different examples of transformation and re-use of abandoned buildings or infrastructures such as old factories or markets. Jane Hall and Barbara Buser present their strategies and approaches to the theme and examine the role of those operating in architecture as mediators of complex transformation processes - including the relationship between profitability and financing, planning and construction, communication and participation. Each session consists of a presentation by each guest atelier followed by a conversation with Felipe De Ferrari, inviting all the attendees to participate and question the guests via chat.
Two months later, on 10 December 2020, the second conference will stage a confrontation of ideas around the On New Housing Models and Architecture without Status. A reflection on domestic space, collective housing models and the potential of architecture without status, presented by Martino Tattara - co-founder of the Dogma atelier, based in Brussels - and Roger Tudó - founding member of the Catalan practice Harquitectes. Both will dive into their practices and share their vision on cultural and material standards, and offer alternative and simple models. An opportunity to explore a series of recent projects belonging to different programmes and with different complexities and scales: from social housing blocks in Mexico to the renovation of buildings in Barcelona.
Based on the conviction of the two curators that "architecture must be understood as a strategic attitude to space and available resources", this new programme seeks to discuss the discipline as a collective and strategic body of knowledge that exists and can be applied by anyone, in any community, environment or culture, through a series of mechanisms, devices, structures and forms. Common Field development requires an assessment of the notion of common sense, a critical concept in the present context of globalised neoliberalisation and political decadence. By adopting a critical and optimistic attitude towards physical and cultural contexts, policies, tasks and clients, architecture can appropriate reality in radical and unexpected ways, from research to construction - making its potentials and contradictions visible, developing projects that shape emancipatory ideas, thus building a Common Field. The duo argue that this radical architectural approach is not only desirable, but necessary. Such an approach can be imagined as a cumulative process of constant appropriation, imitation, repetition, translation and recontextualisation through open and generous thinking - including pragmatism and humour - based on careful revision of material reality and social conditions. Common Field explores the paths that can lead us to this form of collective construction.
With limited capacity, tickets for 28 October and 10 December 2020 are on sale on ticketline and at the CCB ticket office. The price per session is 7€, with discounts for students, people over 65, CCB Card, Lisbon Architecture Triennale patrons and unemployed (5€).