The ‘argument’ series compiles the results of the annual lecture program from the Department of Architectural Design at ETSAM. Each academic year proposes a research theme around which all public events in the cycle are developed.
SAMPLING CONTEXTS inaugurates this series with a reflection on how architects incorporate their references into the production process, defining a unique context for their practice. Borrowing the musical term «sampling» suggests an attitude of appropriation that is openly unprejudiced regarding the values of originality and authorship. It is an effective procedure for dealing with the contradictions inherent in the impossible condition of the «new.» We have been operating through fragments for some time, but simply combining them is no longer enough. It is necessary to build shared worlds as a prerequisite for production itself. Each individual collection must form part of a collective arsenal. Today, accumulating references is equivalent to dreaming of a community.
