CARTHA - Building Identity

A handbook on fundamental issues of architectural design today, compiled by the international CARTHA network

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 approach from psychoanalysis, CARTHA's members break down the identity-formation process into four sub-steps, which they explore in interviews: Maarten Delbeke, professor of history and theory of architecture at ETH Zurich, talks about Assimilation; Frederike Lausch, researcher at TU Darmstadt's Department of Architecture, about Appropriation; Rob Krier, Berlin and Liguria-based architect and sculptor, about Denial, and Jonathan Sergison, London-based architect, about Reconciliation. These conversations make up the cornerstones for a new, experimental design methodology, which has been tested in practice by architecture firms Bruther (Bordeaux), Bureau Spectacular (Los Angeles), Conen Sigl (Zurich), Made In (Geneva / Zurich), Monadnock (Rotterdam), Studio Muoto (Paris), and Sam Jacob Studio (London). CARTHABuilding Identities features a variety of buildingshouses, cottages, apartmentsdesigned in the context of these insights.

The book offers a didactic manual for contemporary architectural design. The concept of identity that CARTHA proposes invites readers to adopt a critical attitude towards any found environment. The objective is a deeper understanding of how architects actually create identity through their designs.

Der neue Band der internationalen Architekturnetzwerks CARTHA herausgegbeenen Reihe befasst sich mit dem Thema des Entwerfens Interviews mit international bekannten Architekten wie Jonathan Sergison und Rob Krier stehen neben spekulativen Projekten jüngerer Kolleginnen und Kollegen, die deren Entwurfspraktiken vorstellen

Auteur

CARTHA is a network of young architects and designers from all over the world. The international platform focuses on alternating topics and creates a landscape of contemporary architecture from opinions, insights, and new designs gathered in their exchange with other architects, scholars, and researchers.