Mountains have long been considered sacred in both Western and non-Western traditions. Their impressive height, visual presence, and material stability alter our consciousness, leading us to associate them with permanence, power, and divinity. In many cultures, mountains are seen as the Axis Mundi of the universe: the center of the world, a place linking heaven and earth, around which the sun and stars revolve, ensuring the stability of the cosmos. The “Cosmic Mountain” is then a place that provides order and stability to the world and the people that live in it, acting upon it with both natural and supernatural forces. As such, mountains can reveal the histories of ecologies, mythologies, and architectural experimentations. This design studio will focus on this theme, asking how mountains can shape our understanding of complex spatial systems and our relationship with both built and unbuilt landscapes.
To explore this up close, we will undertake a field trip to the sacred mountain of Montserrat in Catalonia, Spain. This distinctively shaped mountain has been a site of pilgrimage for centuries due to the presence of the “Black Madonna” located in the Montserrat Abbey. It has also attracted hikers, nature enthusiasts, and geological experts to its many trails, funiculars, and viewing points. During our excursion, we will spend three nights in the Abbey itself and explore the mountain through drawing, writing, photography, and filmmaking. The outcome of the trip will be a film produced with the guidance of architectural filmmaker Nikola Miloradovic, who will provide assignments and daily feedback.
Upon returning to Vienna, we will expand our study of “natural” mountains to include artificial ones built in mimicry of topographical features. This includes the Ziggurats of Mesopotamia, where terraced temples appeared as so-called “man-made mountains” rising above the flat desert plains, providing visible orientation and a clear panoptical viewpoint for rulers. In ancient Mayan culture, pyramids, known simply as “mountains” (wits), served as temples for the ritualization of everyday community activities tied to the agricultural rhythms of rain, cultivation, and harvest. Today, the prominence of mountain-like architecture is especially visible in Southeast Asia. The Meru tower—a multi-leveled wooden pagoda covered by a thatched roof—forms the architectural archetype of Hindu temples, identified with the mythology of Mount Meru. Around Vienna, we can also visit various local pilgrimage sites that emulate Calvary Hill in Jerusalem—the so-called Kalvarienbergs found in Catholic landscapes.
The final design project will be located in a mountain of the student’s choice, whether real or artificial. Students will propose a new ritual, site, space of retreat, sacred enclosure, or other contextual interventions. When choosing the project, considerations should include the cultural and social context of the site, its ecological and climatic setting, a sensitive approach to integration with the mountain’s topography, and a creative understanding of what constitutes an architectural intervention.
Methods:
Students in this studio will choose a site and create an intervention that is based on the research conducted into the theme of the cosmic mountain. Learning from the excursion to Montserrat, they will use various experimental media such as filmmaking and photography alongside other modes of representation such as model-making, drawings and collages.
THE COURSE WILL BE HELD ENTIRELY IN ENGLISH!
Lecturers:
Wilfried Kuehn
Merin, Gili
Miloradovic, Nikola
further information:
Kick-Off: Thu, October 10th 2024, 10.00, in White Cube, FOB Raumgestaltung und Entwerfen, Stiege 3/4. Stock, AC0424
Excursion to Montserrat: 3.11. – 5.11.2024, details avaialable at: 253.L88 (participation is obligatory for the design participants.)
Meetings every Tuesday 10:00 – 15:00.