HTC- History Theory Criticism Studio 2

This studio offered an opportunity to contest the dominant narratives of formalism in architectural history, and to position history and criticism as an active component of contemporary architectural practice. History of architecture has more often than not been relegated to its formalist format, and “lessons from history” translate to stylistic emulations in architecture. This course shatters that constricted viewpoint and expands the application of historiography to include spatial concerns of materialism / technology / post-humanism / re-appropriation / erasures / identity / sexual orientations / economics. Taking the case of a city which has rich archival material—Kolkata—the studio created a body of critical knowledge so as to inform subsequent architectural forms for a present-day live project. Emphasis was on formal production of architecture, substantiated by a critical perspective on architectural history—both archival and material—of the city. This was done in three modules: working with archival evidence, working with material evidence, and methods in content creation: architectural catalogue.