More than a month later than we had planned to post this wrap-up, Archinect is pleased to finally offer some thoughts on the results of SWITZERLAND, WE HAVE A PROBLEM. Thanks to everyone who participated and we remind the reader that all entries are available for viewing in the Flickr group pool. Below we offer two sections. First, a barrage of musings and questions attempting to flesh out the Call for Ideas. This is followed by a selection of representative responses. This, too, is intended more as a starting point than a definitive categorization. Enjoy.
At the core of the Call for Ideas was an implicit question about the efficacy of architecture in the realm of politics. What modes of response does architecture allow us that are specific and unique to our discipline? What is the relationship between the role of the individual as a citizen who, by rights, participates in the socio-political sphere compared to the discursive potential of one’s role as architect? In confronting points of political contention such as the minaret ban in Switzerland, what does a specifically architectural mode of resistance look like? Is there even a useful specificity or perhaps architecture in the hands of an architect is nothing more than a brick – an object of resistance only inasmuch as it’s hurled forcefully into the world. Some of the entrants to this Call for Ideas are asking bricks what they want to be and hearing a much different response than Kahn could have ever dreamed.
Editor Javier Arbona fleshes out the undertones of the ban by placing it amongst xenophobic trends in Europe: "Both the minarets and the veil-ban in France are symptoms of a larger problem that has to do with accelerating commerce and exchange under neoliberalism, but not being willing to live with difference." This suggests that the stakes are much higher than the already quite serious matter of freedom of religious expression. Rather, we may need to seek strategies for the cunning diffusion of difference that are able to operate from within the increasingly pervasive umbrella of neoliberal markets. Does the ban on minarets demand refutation or beg for subversive pathways towards an increased "willingness to live with difference?" Javier, like many of the commenters, was uneasy with forgoing resistance, instead favoring “design for a larger opposition to the repression." As the variety of proposals implies, there’s room – and necessity – for both approaches.
The ideas proposed ranged from outright opposition to sly subversion of existing Swiss symbols, with a number of technological solutions somewhere in between. Although most of the entries satisfied the requirement of being more event than object, the ones we found most provocative went beyond this functional issue to comment on the role of religious symbolism in contemporary life. This suggests that an effective response to the ban is not an either/or decision but a both/and combining political resistance and a broad range of opportunities to reconsider the symbolic values of our various material cultures.
Quilian Riano notes that immigration is increasing "as European cities, and their native populations, adapt to the changes brought about by local low birth rates," which brings to the forefront the need for negotiation between distinct material cultures. This implies that we’re collectively bearing witness to the lurching evolution of European culture as Switzerland, in the case of this particular discussion, decides whether "geography is not fair," as Puddles put it, or finds a more harmonious path towards the arbitration of disparate constituencies and their unique material cultures.
Although Europe is no stranger to ethnic ghettoization, the challenge of cohabiting cultures is exacerbated compared to the American context where the plentitude of sprawl enjoyed by many cities eases the "co" in cohabitation. America take note – redoing infrastructure to increase density may be the easiest part of reducing sprawl compared to these brewing cultural deliberations.
We can also ask the question the other way around. Rather than focusing on the minaret as an intruding foreign object – as some apparently perceive it – many proposals ask us to consider "Swissness." Puddles continues this line of thought by asking what the minaret ban may precipitate:
"Who else will soon see fit to exploit this Swiss concern for their [visual] environment with additional bans on architectural elements that are considered unswiss [sic]? Could an environmental group/green party, for example, propose a ban on skyscrapers as being unswiss?"
To kickstart the conversation, we’ve loosely grouped the entries by themes. Using the magic of Flickr all are invited to suggest new themes or categorizations. These themes are not exclusive or comprehensive.
APPROPRIATION
minarets
anarchytect.ch-religion what a building site
luksic&bucat_sky-scraper minaret
landmark minaret
Mini-ret II
minaret typologies
swiss chocolate :: minaret
St Peter's new minaret
MinaretProject
A Call to Prayer
Turbine-Minaret
swissprecisionclocktower
Conversion
swissminaret
Swiss Minaret
MinarettScape
one minaret two church towers
↑ Click image to enlarge
“I found that this entry could become a very charged political symbol, appropriating the status quo symbol of freedom to practice a faith, and then very subtly turns it against itself. I see this entry as easily-deployable, and also doesn't fall into caricature or kitsch as others did. It also reminded me a bit of the work of Krzysztof Wodiczko.”
– Javier Arbona
INFLATABLE
Switzerland We Have A Problem
pro!test
PRADEEP KUMAR UPPARI
inflatable minaret
swissstyleminaret
FLYING
deployable minaret
Deployed
Mosque of air - Minarets of shadow
a slowly dissolving column of smoke...
Floating minaret
↑ Click image to enlarge
“Look closely and you’ll find the perfect folk-tale for generations to come ...”
- Heather Ring
TELESCOPING
swiss minaret plan
Proposed solution to minaret issue
MinarEVENT02
The Baxendale Motorized Telescoping Minaret
RESISTING
ipwt
minaraentis
LIGHT & WATER
St Peter's new minaret
Wie Schnee an der Sonne
A Call to Prayer
manarat
1
Liquid Minaret
steam and light
mnneo-CH150txt
SMM
↑ Click image to enlarge
RETRACTABLE
Minaret Trouvé
crystal minarett
...
out of rocks
popup
White Arabesque
Faith, presence and elevation
cuckoo
↑ Click image to enlarge
“Let's just imagine the postcard for a second. If I were to get this in the mail, I would notice that Lucerne (this is Lucerne, right?) is under construction. Should I be enticed to actually visit, and should I be in the city at the time for a call to prayer, I would notice the alpenhorn-wielding muezzin. And yet, nothing about this suggests that I am looking at a minaret. If anything, it would be something akin to Lissitsky's Lenin Tribune (1920/1924).”
- Smokety Mc Smoke Smoke
PORTABLE
iPray, the app for Muslims in Switzerland.
Mini-ret II
Mini-ret
Scud B
city of spires
switzerland, we have a problem
before after glasses
Minaret flottant
↑ Click image to enlarge
“Architecture already seems anachronistic – this mobilizes a collective call to prayer through a wearable network”
- Heather Ring
NEW FORM
Serge Coumans
Mosque 21 - smo architektur
switzerland the alps
NEGATION
luksic&bucat_sky-scraper minaret
FURTIVE PRESENCE
Remove Minarets!
minaret in swiss
↑ Click image to enlarge
“Using the local tradition of marking out a building's proposed volume before construction begins, this entry turns Swissness against itself... begging the viewer to ask why construction is taking so long.”
– Bryan Boyer
FLAGPOLE
SWISS SWITCH 2 SING
SWISS SWITCH 2 SING
CAMOUFLAGE
minarets
Minaret flottant
↑ Click image to enlarge
“I find it interesting that this project is based ostensibly on "perception", if only because issues of "perception" lead to the minaret ban in the first place. The project is visually compelling, but I wonder to what extent an idea of "forced compromise." I question the role of architecture in this project. If this is a case of what Raymond Williams calls a "problem of perspective", if what really drives this project is that people will see a mosque if they pay attention, how, then is architecture implicated other than as pure representation? Put another way, is a solution to a problem of representation only to restate the problem?”
– Smokety Mc Smoke Smoke
2 Comments
i must say that this is really exciting!! will be spending hours going through this instead of working on my studio project . . .
this competition should be conceived as an opportunity to provide elements of design enabling multiple readings as a means of reconcilliation between two conflicting views of two different citizens to the cityscape...
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