Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur und Stadt (GTAS)

I am ded­i­cat­ed to the inves­ti­ga­tion, analy­sis and doc­u­men­ta­tion of the poli­to-eco­nom­i­cal frame­works and eth­i­cal demands for archi­tec­ture and archi­tects in the con­text of a new civ­il society. I understand the mak­ing-vis­i­ble of deci­sion-mak­ing struc­tures as well as the recognition of inter­de­pen­den­cies between such sys­tems as an essen­tial if not indis­pens­able instru­ment for a nego­tiable, trans­for­ma­tive and emanci­pa­to­ry pro­duc­tion of space. This is impor­tant as oth­er ways of doing become think­able only when ques­tions about priv­i­lege, inter­ests or pow­er are exposed and their lay­ers revealed. I believe, that the much-demand­ed right to the city, for exam­ple, can only be realised if and when the very sys­tems that pro­duce archi­tec­tur­al projects and objects become the focus of investigation.

This crit­i­cal-reflex­ive point of depar­ture is anchored in my teach­ing and research through the explo­ration of his­tor­i­cal lines of flight and is sit­u­at­ed further with­in inter­dis­ci­pli­nary dis­cus­sions and trans-local concerns so that con­tem­po­rary issues — migra­tion, the hous­ing ques­tion, cli­mate change or agency — become framed and embed­ded in wider debates. With this approach, I am posi­tion­ing myself against the mod­ernist frag­men­ta­tion and abstrac­tion of knowl­edge. Instead, I am con­cerned with the mak­ing-understand­able the com­plex machines or appa­ra­tus­es involved in the making of space as well as the con­fig­u­ra­tion of oth­er trajectories and imaginaries.

Unsere Arbeit am Institut für Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur und Stadt (GTAS) steht im Zeichen des Klimanotstands. In diesem Kontext widmen wir uns der Erforschung, Analyse und Dokumentation der wirtschaftspolitischen Rahmenbedingungen und ethischen Anforderungen an die Produktion von Raum im weitesten Sinne. Wir hinterfragen Privilegien, Macht, Disziplinen, Apparate, Institutionen und etablieren Momente, in denen neue Systeme, Imaginarien und Zukünfte entstehen können.