Rebuilding Ulm Pavilion Summer School "Structure - Sculpture"
1.
The Summer School was dedicated to the theoretical and practical exploration of the topic of "structural form" in the field of tension between art and technology. The term structural form stands for the attempt to grasp structural thinking in architecture, design and art with a more valid expressiveness. This refers to the formal derivation from an inner compositional logic, the associated
research into geometric laws and the testing of these constructs on the external factors that determine their materialization. The choice of topic was determined by the consideration that structural approaches in design and creation processes are experiencing a renaissance today, primarily brought about by technology.
2.
The two-week course took place at the Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y Urbanismo of the Universidad de Buenos Aires. It was a joint project of the research groups Building Construction and Design, Geometry, Artistic Design and Building History of the Department of Architecture at the Technical University of Kaiserslautern. The circle of participants consisted of students and young graduates of various degree programs in the field of architecture and design from Argentina, Venezuela and Germany. The aim was to combine formal-constructive design work with historical-critical reflection. This work took place against the background of European traditions of structural thinking in the field of visual arts, design and architecture, which were received and transformed in Latin America in the 1950s and 1960s. This context includes, for example, the works and design theories of the Swiss artist, designer and architect Max Bill and the Argentinian painter and publicist Tomás Maldonado, both of whom taught at the Hochschule für Gestaltung (HfG) in Ulm in the 1950s and 1960s.
3.
The choice of venue was directly related to the content of the Summer School. In Buenos Aires, the interactions of structural thinking in art and architecture between Europe and Latin America are closely linked to the career of Tomás Maldonado. After his early trips to Europe, Maldonado built a bridge between the theories of the Bauhaus, the idea of the "Good Form" and the aesthetics of Max Bill with the publication of the magazine Nueva Visión and as the author of a monograph on Max Bill (Buenos Aires 1951). Through his work as a lecturer and rector of the HfG Ulm, Maldonado conveyed Latin American positions in Europe. He later helped shape the development and teaching concepts of the Facultad de Arquitectura, Diseño y
Urbanismo at the Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Rebuilding Ulm Pavilion Summer School "Structure - Sculpture" Escuela de verano "Estructura - Escultura" Buenos Aires March 5 to 18, 2012 Del 5 al 18 de marzo de 2012