10 Act Circus

Paper on the global practice of architecture.

“Most of my work today happens to be outside Spain… In such different places, you carry your own modus operandi with you and then develop the continuity from a core centroid that you discover within the site. I feel that, when Japanese clients give commissions to foreign architects, it is reminiscent of the medieval period when traveling troupes of players went from city to city and village to village, representing via the theater narrative histories drawn from the outside world.”

—Enric Miralles, 1996 Jerusalem Seminar

The circus (the surviving form of Miralles’ troupes) presents an unlikely, but relevant, analogy to contemporary international practice. As a magical disruption of the discourse based on being “authentic,” the circus can be taken as a counterpoint to how we approach contextualism as architects.

How do the troupes sustain a meaningful cultural practice in the various venues that they visit around the world? This is the main question posed in this paper that we wrote together following three years practicing in Seoul, South Korea. Caution: A re-write into ordinary language is in order (but at least the pictures were entertaining!).

Related Links
More on re-thinking contextualism…

[+] Excerpt