Non-Professional Practice

"I've never worked for a living. I consider working for a living slightly imbecilic from an economic point of view. I hope some day we'll be able to live without being obliged to work." Marcel Duchamp 

The course aims to study unconventional modes of creative practices and their underlying implications.  In a rapidly changing world that is facing unprecedented challenges, the hyperspecialization of the professional can backfire in its rigidity and the implied limitation, while also becoming a powerful tool of discrimination.  We will investigate collectively why it is important to look outside of the current framework of architectural practice, identify new possibilities and establish the role of design itself in this conversation. 

Topics that are brought up to debate with guest lecturers from various fields include the chance of changing times, the importance of production of culture, the permeability of disciplinary boundaries, the role of language and communication, the banality of kickstarting something, the urgency of (mis)use and interpretation, the Hacker and the Expert, the undercommons, the irrelevance of authorship, the beauty of failure and the social being as a practice.  

The class is based on a workshop format, centered on research, analysis and guest lecturers and requires above all your presence and participation in the dialogue.