Peripheral narratives as a prefiguration of conceptual paradigms

Abstract

The research is based on the relationship between traditionally dominant and less represented narratives in architectural history. The practices by which architectural knowledge was exported, imported or translated are analysed and evaluated based on the relationship between the cultures of the centre and the cultures of the pe- riphery, whose culturally defined domains are thereby re-examined. Focusing on the architectural experiences of the Global South, it transfigures the local narratives into the globally valuable set of architectural approa- ches. Starting from the theoretical point of view, it confronts the discourse of modernity with practices which deviated from the modern canon. By in-depth analysis of the work by architects Hassan Fathy, Andre Ravere- au, Charles Correa, Yasmeen Lari etc. but also Rural Studio, Ana Heringer, Francis Kerre, Tatiana Bilbao etc. it reveals their social, economic and ecological impact. At the same time, it reveals the design approaches arising from the physical and spiritual realities of the peripheral communities. The identified architectural operations are then processed through a new creative synthesis, through analytical drawings and conceptual models. The resulting concepts are open to universal interpretations. The perspectives through which they can be viewed are: compositions of the (un)finished, core housing, architecture of (in)accessible resources, adaptability of walls, floors and ceilings, earth building techniques, cross-section complexity, multipurpose porch, public large-span structures, enclosed courtyard, open room, construction modularity, community space and archi- tectural activism etc. The specificities of architectural approaches from a seemingly handicapped hemisphere of the earth, viewed from an inverted perspective thus offer the possibility of synthesizing new, valuable and purposeful insights. The research was applied as a basis of a seminar course in the final year of study.