Nauwkeurig lezen, precies manipuleren, als middel om gelegenheden te grijpen

Het artikel bespreekt het jonge oeuvre van Tom Thys Architecten en besteed een bijzondere aandacht voor de ontwerpmethodiek

Drawing, (building), writing

This paper argues that it is crucial to conceptualize the difference between the notions "design rationale" and "discursive rationale". Awareness of the rational component in the design process may not be confused with having "theoretical knowledge" on the way designers design. We do not define the act of designing as a "discursive process" in which every step taken can be argued and covered with theoretical knowledge. That's why the description (and the analysis) of a certain "design rationale" is distinct from the "practical design knowledge" as we find in design guides. When we really want to think about "design" we have to articulate the interstice between thinking, writing and designing

De relatieve autonomie van de (school)architectuur en de complexe werking van de historische tijd

This text on school-architecture principally presents an architectural point of view. However, by focusing on how the two disciplines (architectural criticism and the history of pedagogy) deal with the problematic of time, the text touches the interdisciplinary question. In the first two paragraphs we stress the relative autonomy of the architectural discipline. By referring to the theories of the Italian architect Aldo Rossi, we make a distinction between the architectural form and the function of the building. The architect confronts the material sustainability of the architectural form to the occupational variability of institutional regimes. He demonstrates that historical buildings and monuments still have sense, even when the inhabitation, the use of the buildings and the initial meaning of the buildings have changed. In the next two paragraphs we try to re-investigate the relationship between the school programme and the architecture of an educational edifice. Therefore, we make use of two series of metaphors. A first sequence of terms is borrowed from computer technology. We compare the school building, the school regime and the events occurring in a school setting; to the hardware, the software and the way one makes use of a computer. For the second sequence of terms we make use of the ‘time theory’ of Fernand Braudel. The French historian distinguishes the longue durée from the social history and historical events: ‘des structures, des conjunctures, des événements’. Referring to the material sustainability of architectural artifacts, we argue that many architectonic questions are rooted in the longue durée. We even boldly state that architecture acts against the social history of customs and institutions. In a last concluding paragraph we will show, how in the design process, these categories are inverted. While designing a building, the solid becomes fluid, and the material reality becomes a possibility. In the design process the architect invests in the longue durée and the material qualities (the hardware) of institutional buildings such as a school, but in this way the designer finally can formulate a critique on the functioning of an institutional regime, and the use of the architectonic artifact

The curious case of curiosity: unpleasant advertising and curiosity

Previous research demonstrated that advertisements that induce positive feelings are effective. However, unpleasant advertising are frequently used and can be effective as well. This research examines whether evoked curiosity can explain the effectiveness of unpleasant advertising. Our results indicate that although unpleasant advertising did not lead to behavioral intention with regard to the advertised product, unpleasant advertising did evoke curiosity. Curiosity itself proves to be a strong predictor of behavioral intention