Cartha--Building Identity - by Holly Baker & Pablo Garrido Arnaiz & Ainsley Johnston & Amy Perkins & Rubén Valdez & Francisco Moura Veiga

Book Synopsis

Explores the role of architecture in forming identity in society through interviews with renowned scholars and a set of projects by international firms especially designed for this book.

In their new book, the international CARTHA network engages with the question of forming identity in society and the role that architecture plays in this process. Inspired by Jacques Lacan's psychoanalytical approach, CARTHA's members break down identity formation into four processes, which they explore in interviews. Maarten Delbeke, professor of history and theory of architecture at ETH Zurich, talks about assimilation, while Frederike Lausch, a researcher at TU Darmstadt's Department of Architecture, discusses appropriation. Rob Krier, a Berlin- and Liguria-based architect and sculptor examines denial, and Jonathan Sergison, a London-based architect, reflects on reconciliation.

Together, these conversations set the overall conceptual frame for a new, speculative design methodology, which is put to test by international architecture firms: Made In (Switzerland), Sam Jacob Studio (Britain), Monadnock (Netherlands), Bruther (France / Switzerland), Bureau Spectacular (USA), Conen Sigl (Switzerland), and Studio Muoto (France) have been invited to submit a design for a new dwelling, drawing from projects inserted in their own conceptual, social, and physical contexts. CARTHA--Building Identities is a handbook for architectural design, beautifully illustrated through plans, sections, montages, and texts.

About the Author

Holly Baker is a designer and editor with CARTHA Magazine, and a dual-degree candidate in Architecture and Critical, Curatorial, and Conceptual Practices at Columbia University. Pablo Garrido Arnaiz is an architect, curator, publisher, and member of CARTHA Magazine's editorial board. He serves as a teaching and research assistant at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio in Switzerland and as visiting professor at the Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico. Ainsley Johnston is an architect and editor with CARTHA Magazine and a lecturer at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Architecture. Amy Perkins is an architect and founding member of London-based Assemble Studio, and a member of CARTHA Magazine's editorial board. She also serves as a teaching and research assistant with Tom Emerson's Chair for Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich's Department of Architecture and as visiting professor at EPFL Lausanne's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Rubén Valdez is an architect, artist, educator, and publisher working between Switzerland and Mexico, and a member of CARTHA Magazine's editorial board. He also holds a teaching appointment at EPFL Lausanne's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. Francisco Moura Veiga is an architect, artist, researcher, and editor based in Basel and Santarém. He is the founder of CARTHA Magazine and of the online platform Publishing in Architecture. He is also a doctoral candidate, teaching and research assistant at VOLUPTAS, and François Charbonnet and Patrick Heiz's Chair for Architecture and Design at ETH Zurich's Department of Architecture.