Abstract
The History and Theory of Architecture have traditionally discussed buildings as if they were the fixed, timeless emanations of the mind of an omnipotent Architect. However, the real life of buildings as we experience them is anything but fixed, pure, or timeless. In order to survive, buildings have to be as chimerical and cunning as the people who made them. This paper proposes an alternative history of Architecture that aims to resolve this contradiction between Theory and Practice. This proposed History records the survival stories of a number of buildings, told in the manner of stories that have themselves survived through repeated shape shifting –myths and fairy stories. By telling these stories, this proposed history of Architecture aims to feed the practice of Architecture with examples that illustrate how flexible, ephemeral, and engaging the life of buildings can be.
Keywords
narrative and design, history and theory of architecture, rites and rituals in everyday life, concept of research, timeless-ness
Citation
Hollis, E. (2006) The Fairy Stories project: Towards a history of Architecture as a time based medium, in Friedman, K., Love, T., Côrte-Real, E. and Rust, C. (eds.), Wonderground - DRS International Conference 2006, 1-4 November, Lisbon, Portugal. https://dl.designresearchsociety.org/drs-conference-papers/drs2006/researchpapers/28
The Fairy Stories project: Towards a history of Architecture as a time based medium
The History and Theory of Architecture have traditionally discussed buildings as if they were the fixed, timeless emanations of the mind of an omnipotent Architect. However, the real life of buildings as we experience them is anything but fixed, pure, or timeless. In order to survive, buildings have to be as chimerical and cunning as the people who made them. This paper proposes an alternative history of Architecture that aims to resolve this contradiction between Theory and Practice. This proposed History records the survival stories of a number of buildings, told in the manner of stories that have themselves survived through repeated shape shifting –myths and fairy stories. By telling these stories, this proposed history of Architecture aims to feed the practice of Architecture with examples that illustrate how flexible, ephemeral, and engaging the life of buildings can be.