Architecture and Invention

Professors

Berta Bardí Milà

A-4.3

Introduction

The subject aims to build with words. It aims to clarify the nature of the different types, formats and genres of writing associated with research
in architectural projects, whether theoretical articles, opinions, reviews, reviews, interviews, reports, replies to articles already published, etc. to focus on the texts
scientists.

But for a text to be considered a scientific article it has to meet certain characteristics and respond to a reason. One of the features is the fact that it has
to be original (communicating the result of a research for the first time), i. e. to bring some new knowledge. The results presented must be valid and reliable, must be written in clear and precise language and, above all, must use a methodology with tools and procedures that have been shown to be scientifically valid.

The purpose of the scientific article is to share the results obtained —through the research carried out— with the scientific community, so that they can be known and contrasted. For this purpose, all the necessary information must be clearly presented to enable an understanding of the arguments and results that have been found. There is also a standardized structure for this type of manuscript: introduction, method,
results and discussion. This standard of writing must be followed in all its aspects, both in terms of structure and content and references. Is this also true of texts on architecture? Does this structure allow project topics to be dealt with? Do these writing rules make it possible to show the foundations and principles that emerge from the exemplary references? How do concepts such as resilience, waste or sustainability fit into critical texts on architectural works?

We must reflect on the refusal of renowned authors such as Josep Quetglas or Luis Fernández-Galiano because of the current situation of criticism. “The criticisms of architecture are, today, such a flamarada. They are an ornamental literary genre, an accompaniment genre. That is why we know that tomorrow they will no longer exist. ” (Quetglas, “What I Have Not Read”, 2021) “The crisis of criticism has been displaced by the crisis of the world. ” (Fernández-Galiano, “Criticism and Crisis”, 2016) How do we respond to these denials?

The approach of the subject includes a list of reference texts to analyze, as if it were a set of case studies. With the detailed analysis of the examples, we will proceed to develop a text of our own with all the conditions and parts demanded. Emphasis is placed on the essential relationship between written language and graphic language, as well as the management of accurate and relevant bibliographic sources. The main objective of the course is to provide resources that allow to understand and deal with the writing of research articles.

Program

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