Position 03: MANIFESTO!

In the FINAL position paper of the semester each student will undertake the writing of a personal manifesto for architecture.. This document will conclude the research into the topic outlined by each student in their first two position papers of the semester. It should succinctly describe the values, agenda, and vision for the architecture that each student (as related to their topic of study) values and should outline the initial frame of reference that will guide their education and early careers. As discussed in lecture 11, there is a long tradition dating back to Vitruvius involving architects framing their work within the issues of their "day" as well as outlining the ways that they feel the discipline of architecture could/should address these very issues. Manifestos are a "tried & true" method for architects to communicate the intended referential frame, context, and audience for their work as well as projecting how they feel this work should be measured and critiqued. It is a way of clearly defining and communicating an agenda or statement of why their work matters and how "architecture" can meet a specific challenge. It may outline something “new” , or something lost, that historically the discipline has failed to face or no longer faces properly. Therefore, a “new” way is proposed allowing for a path to properly adapt to emerging conditions.”

Though this is the "closing" argument of the semester and will encapsulate previous research and material, students should not "plagiarize" their previous work. This is to be a "new", more focused and refined argument with 3 NEW references added to the reference list of their previous research into the topic. It is the "finishing statement" for what they believe is a pressing societal issue and then a proposal for a means for architecture to address this circumstance. For instance, Le Corbusier saw his "age" as striving towards precision and proposed that the house was the proper expression for exploring this emergent "aesthetics of precision". His answer was the "five points of architecture" and his concept of the house as a "machine for living".

So again, this is not a paper about an individual building per se, but should be more about a particular typology or integrative architectural strategy. This manifesto could also be focused towards the “agency” of the architect, the power of the architect's design skill set, or the discipline's ability to address the contingent issues that must be addressed for the profession to successfully adapt to the changes that globalization has wrought. A good guide for creating a proper tone and strategy for this paper is the article "how to write an architectural manifesto".