Drawing is Not Enough. Design Tools for the Reuse of Modernist Buildings

This paper[i] re-discusses the question of design tools, a metaphor that lately has been used for different things such as simple objects, media, cultural techniques, computer programs, formal principles or thinking strategies. After reviewing recent research on design tools, a taxonomy will be proposed. The key tool for the reuse of modernist buildings though remains the building itself, and its related narratives.   [i] The author would like to thank Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, in Suzhou, China, for generously founding his work on this research, as well as his travel to participate in the RMB conference in April 2018 at the University of Coimbra, Portugal. He also would like to thank Shayne Jones for disucssing and revising earlier versions of this text

Von Vilém Flusser’s Gesten ausgehend. Zur Phänomenologie des Entwerfens und seiner Werkzeuge

This essay draws on Vilém Flusser’s phenomenological approach and speculative thinking to envision a theory of architectural design. It focusses particularly on the last book he published during his lifetime, Gesten (Gestures) 1991. Based on a series of lectures held in São Paulo and in the mid-seventies in France, Gesten offers a sequence of 18 essays reflecting upon everyday activities as “movement(s) of the body or of a tool attached with the body, for which there is no satisfactory causal explanation” (3-4). The book culminates in the call for a general theory of gestures. Starting from a close reading of some of these chapters, this essay examines the relation between gestures and thinking, between gestures and the future, with a particularly close look at the gesture of making. Gestures are discussed in terms of primary means of visual expression, which in many ways become starting points for design processes. Flusser's general theory of gestures facilitates a theory of architectural design based on a phenomenological analysis of its tools and processes. By going back to some of Flusser's writings on tools, machines and apparatuses and their unforeseen repercussions, new design practices and digital design tools can be understood as ways of simulating and anticipating the consequences of design decisions, permitting us to better understand and deal with them

From Memories to History. In: Sharing Memories. Álvaro Siza, Ocean Swimming Pool (1960-2021)

This book gathers 32 contributions presented at the "Sharing Memories: Ocean Swimming Pool" webinar organized by the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto on the 9th September 2021

Entwerfen im Zeitalter der künstlichen Intelligenz - Eine Bestandsaufnahme und Prognose.

The paper reflects on the use of AI in architectural design, mapping its current forms and offering a prognosis about future developments

柏林洪堡论坛:有争议的记忆——柏林宫局部重建 / Humboldt-Forum Berlin: Contested Memories. The Partial Reconstruction of the Berlin Palace

In July 2021, after three decades of discussions and delays, the Humboldt-Forum in Berlin opened to the public. Constructed on the site and roughly within the volume of the former Royal Palace formerly located at the center of the city, the project was highly controversial from the beginning, and continues to be so. The text shortly introduces the long and complex history of the project, and critically reviews the recently finished building, designed by Italian architect Franco Stella. The introduction is written by Pierre-Alain Croset

Biological aspects of the larva of <i>Sepedophilus testaceus</i> (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae, Tachyporinae): morphology of the posterior abdomen and prey-capture behaviour

Two aspects of the larval biology of the rove beetle Sepedophilus testaceus (Staphylinidae: Tachyporinae) were investigated, namely the morphology of the posterior abdomen (abdominal apex) and the predatory behaviour of the larvae towards elusive springtails. The larvae move their urogomphi via a single urogomphal muscle. Its presumed antagonist is a cuticular, possibly elastic process that lies below the urogomphus. Additional features of the posterior abdomen include (i) a reduced but well-developed musculature, (ii) segmental exocrine glands of unknown function, and (iii) five rectal diverticula that are externally visible as eversible lobes and that presumably serve as adhesive organs. Segments IX and X deviate from the more anterior abdominal segments in both their external and internal organisation including their equipment with muscles. Comparisons with previous studies suggest that the segmental glands and rectal diverticula are groundplan features of Staphylinidae and Staphyliniformia, respectively. However, the structure and biological relevance of these traits have as yet received little attention. Laboratory-based highspeed videography observations have confirmed that the investigated L3 larvae are predaceous and highly capable of capturing even elusive prey such as springtails with a relatively high success rate of 40%. The larvae attack their prey immediately after accidental contact and detect and localise their exact position via the hair-like sensilla on their antennae and other body parts. Contact with the prey is below threshold, i.e. occurs without releasing the prey’s escape response, and is followed by a rapid grasping movement of about 40 milliseconds on average that is executed by the falciform mandibles of the larva. This is well within the range of the escape response of the springtail.</p