Advance Notice: “Interdependent Bodies – Making Non-Normative Space(s) for Care”, 29.10.2018, 17:00–19:00, ETH Hönggerberg

Monday, 29.10.2018, 17.00–19.00, ETH Zürich Hönggerberg, venue (tba)

Public roundtable discussion with inputs by Dr. Jos Boys (independent scholar, Dis/Ordinary Architecture Project, UK), Caroline Cardus (artist, UK), Prof. Adam Caruso (architect, Chair for Architecture and Construction ETHZ, UK/CH), and Dr. Nina Mühlemann (researcher/disability rights activist, CH/UK).

Moderation: Dr. Torsten Lange and Dr. Gabrielle Schaad (Visiting Lectureship of the Theory of Architecture ETHZ).

Followed by an apéro.

A collaboration between the Visiting Lectureship of the Theory of Architecture & architektura, Fachverein der Studierenden des D-ARCH.

What kinds of criticality or creativity can ‘disability’ bring to the discipline of architecture, beyond design guidance or accessibility regulations? Design and construction often presume the ideal of an able-bodied user. Resulting norms are frequently rendered unconscious in everyday routines, talk and actions. When placed as a central concern in architecture, ‘disability’ has the potential to disrupt, question and alter common modes of spatial ordering. We therefore want to engage in a discussion about agency and experimental tactics that challenge unequal or normative spatial practices. Special attention will be given to care-relationships that produce specific spatial settings. Our aim is to discuss, how architecture might overcome the binary opposition between disability and able-bodiedness, understanding both concepts as relational and ambiguous constructions.