The Berlage Theory Master Class led by Beatriz Colomina
May 8–19, 2017
Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology
Delft 2628 BL
The Netherlands
The Berlage is pleased to announce that renowned architectural historian, theorist, and curator Beatriz Colomina will lead its upcoming theory master class, entitled “The Bed in Age of Social Media.” Participants will use film to theorize new architectural relationships between the bed and social media, using Colomina’s essay “The Century of the Bed” as a point of departure, with its assertion that a unique horizontal architecture exists between bed and office. The master class will be divided into the following two parts, complemented by guest lectures, excursions, and film screenings during the two weeks:
Monday, May 8 to Sunday, May 14
Part 1: Getting Ready for Bed
During the first part of the master class, participants will learn film, interview, and narrative techniques. From writing and cinema to advertisements and public service broadcasting, they will explore the historical and contemporary use and depiction of the bed across media to develop means by which to “theorize through film.” Under the guidance of filmmaker Mauricio Freyre, participants will create a cinematographic prequel to Colomina’s “The Century of the Bed” essay. Participants will use film to investigate the intimate habits of bedtime preparation—from hot showers to lullabies, from teeth brushing to cell phone-charging, and from curtain closing to diary entry—to create short films and discussion pieces that structure the beginning of the second week with Beatriz Colomina.
Monday, May 15 to Friday, May 19
Part 2: Bedtime
Working closely with Beatriz Colomina, participants will then write a speculative climax that questions, subverts, or extends the narrative as developed during Part I. With contributors from architecture, art, and media practice, participants will rework and augment the materials from the first week, digesting, discussing, disseminating, and feeding-back across a number of social media platforms. The second week will be organized around a series of morning reading and discussion sessions with afternoon film workshops, culminating in a public event with screenings and conversations on the capacity for social media to generate new forms of architecture theory.
Beatriz Colomina is an architectural historian and theorist. She is Professor of Architecture and Founding Director of the Program in Media and Modernity at Princeton University. Her most recent exhibition project, co-curated with Mark Wigley, is the third edition of the Istanbul Design Biennial entitled Are We Human?.
Master classes are a unique feature of the Berlage. Twice a year students and young professionals work with world-renowned architects, designers, and thinkers to analyze a chosen subject relevant to contemporary issues in the built environment and are encouraged to experiment with alternative forms of representation and dissemination.
Dates: Monday, May 8 to Friday, May 19, 2017
Place: The Berlage, Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment, Delft University of Technology
The master class is open to a limited number of participants. Interested applicants should submit a motivation statement, CV, and abbreviated portfolio by Thursday, April 13 to info@theberlage.nl.
