Telesis is edited by students enrolled in the Fall 2018 course, “Telesis: The Student Journal” (ARCH 4970/ARCH 5970). Telesis is advised by visiting professor Tiziana Proietti (tiziana.proietti@ou.edu), with graduate assistant Emily Hays (emilyshays@ou.edu).
Call for Submissions
The Gibbs College of Architecture wants to celebrate its vibrant roots by reviving the student journal Telesis as a means by which the student community can share its thoughts about the past, present, and future of architecture, design, and “the current juice.” In doing so, the College will join its aspirational peers who have already established student-led journals. This call for submissions is meant to re-establish Telesis at OU by searching for contributions on a selected topic: Design Against.
Design Against is a call to action that encourages us to stop, look at the world and respond better to the changing built environment. Design Against calls on us all to break from the status quo. It is meant to analyze and thoroughly examine the current state of architecture, its values, its principles and its meanings by questioning them and looking beyond any given definition. Design Against is meant to trigger minds and encourage thinking “out of the box.” Design Against is beyond dualities. It is beyond opposites such as tradition and innovation, ugliness and beauty, low-tech and high-tech, craftsmanship and technology, cheap and expensive, poor and rich, east and west, past and future, etc.
Design Against aims to discuss architecture from its very roots, beyond any “taken for granted” definition. It stems from the idea that architecture transcends scale, function, time and culture. Design Against embraces all scales of human making with the deep conviction that architecture is everything. The clothes we wear, the objects we use, and the spaces we inhabit all belong to the big family of architecture, as a transformation of the natural environment to make it inhabitable to human beings.
Starting from these ideas, Design Against asks you to envision an architectonic utopia by starting from the analysis of architecture: What would happen if some features of our built environment changed or disappeared? What would happen if we revived some lost elements of the human making of the past or brought something that potentially belongs from the future?
What if cars disappeared? What if walls were designed to transform their shape according to the movement of the sun and the wind? What if windows were designed to physical bring part of the exterior space inside? What if vertical connections were not any more designed through staircases and elevators? And more…
What is the architectonic utopia we seek to create and how can design be used to construct and reflect its values? By building utopian visions, the act of Design Against emerges as an answer to the current condition of the built environment starting from the imagination of a new condition that is meant to answer specific issues.
How can we, through utopian visions, Design Against forces of inequity, injustice, pollution or the ubiquitous homogenization of global landscapes? How can we Design Against unemployment due to mechanization and robotics? And can we design against technology for the sake of technology? How can we design against architecture as a tool of consumption? How can we design against spaces not connected to human physical, sensorial and spiritual aptitudes? And more …
This theme issue of Telesis, entitled Design Against, asks us to consider how design might be activated as an agent of change in the world. What is the architectonic utopia we seek to create and how can design be used to construct and reflect its values? Contributors are invited to explore the meaning of Design Against in order to provide insight on certain topics or provoke conversation about these topics. The selected contributions will be published in the first upcoming Telesis student architectural journal. Contributions can be in any of the formats listed below. The deadline to submit contributions is November 28, 2018. Contributions will be reviewed, and decisions regarding acceptance will be based on how well the contributions fits into the topic of Design Against. Contributors might be asked to revise their submissions by January 31, 2019. All contributions must abide by the following requirements.
Contributions:
File name convention: Last Name_First Name_Type of Submission(eg. Scott_Michael_Drawing) The file size can be no larger than 10MB and the file type should be either a JPG, PNG, PDF and/or the file type specified by the specific submission. All unoriginal works MUST be cited. Every contributor must attach a quote narrating their interpretation of “Design Against.” The quote must be 20-50 words. Every submission must
have a title.
Drawing
You are invited to submit a drawing that embodies the theme of “Design Against.”
- Drawing dimensions 10″ x 10″ max (does not need to be a square drawing).
- Drawings can be in any media format ( digital/ handmade /hybrid).
- Please provide high quality scans of drawings (300 ppi). All scans must be post-processed and color-corrected.
- Provide a 100-word statement describing the project and/or the process (for selection purposes).
Photo collage
You are invited to graphically compose a series of original photos in collage format.
- The collage must have a minimum resolution of 300 ppi (3000px x 3000px) (The collage does not need to be a square).
- Collages can be in any media format (digital/ handmade /hybrid). All scans must be post-processed and color-corrected.
- Provide a 100-word statement describing the project and/or the process (for selection purposes).
Design project
You are invited to feature a design project of your own that promotes or identifies with this notion of “Design Against.” The project should be oriented toward the “Design Against” theme. Users are encouraged to rethink or rework an existing project (or an aspect of it, such as a diagram, drawing, rendering, or other) to align with this theme.
- Submit up to 4 high-resolution images, with a proposed graphic layout that fits on a 10″ x 20″ page spread.
- Please include a 200-500 word narrative expressing the relationship between “Design Against” and the design concept.
Manifesto
You are invited to create a manifesto of your own utopian/dystopian vision through the process of “Design Against.”
- The manifesto must include between 5 and 15 points describing your vision
- The manifesto must be between 500-800 words
Additionally, you may submit an image or drawing of your own making to visually represent the manifesto. These must be high-resolution. The dimensions and positioning of this representation are open to negotiation.
Article
You are invited to submit an article that encompasses the idea of “Design Against.” Articles may be theoretical, analytical, critical or historical. Participants are encouraged to explore a range of topics, as Telesis believes that architecture is everything.
- All submissions should be between 500-3000 words.
- Upload images that relate to the text. These must be high-resolution, and the size/positioning is open to suggestions.
Creative Writing
You are invited to contribute a creative composition on the topic of Design Against. This can be a poem, short story, song or other creative composition that is not an article. The narrative could explore an architectonic dystopia/utopia.
- All creative writing submissions should have a maximum of 1000 words.
Re-imagining the existing environment
You are invited to submit a proposal for the utopic/dystopic reimagination of a building, city or space that you are familiar with. The format for this reimagination is open to the contributor, but the media format used should portray a strong and provocative solution to the space’s current state. This reimagination can be submitted in any form (a drawing, collage, poem, story or other format). Please refer to the submission details specific to your chosen format.
Direction for Call for Submissions:
Email final submissions to telesisou@gmail.com by November 28, 2018, at 12:00PM.
Important Dates:
28 November 2018 by 4:00PM – Deadline for Call for Submission
31 January 2019 – Last deadline for revised contributions
FAQS:
If you have any questions about the submissions or the format, please email: telesisou@gmail.com
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