The School of Architecture at Universidad Finis Terrae will host the symposium "Between Van Eycks and Smithsons: Theoretical Convergences, Practical Divergences. Thresholds, Steps, Transitions," which seeks to delve into the specific conditions of the architectural works of Aldo and Hannie van Eyck and Peter and Alison Smithson, and to debate their conceptual issues.
The event—taking place on October 15th at 11:00 a.m. via the Universidad Finis Terrae YouTube channel—is designed as a forum to understand what lies between the theoretical and practical work of the couples Aldo and Hannie van Eyck and Peter and Alison Smithson. Where do they converge and diverge in terms of architecture?
As participants in the final CIAMs in the second half of the 1950s and later as exponents of Team 10 (with the exception of Hannie) over the following two decades, both pairs seem to remain linked, though clearly distanced. Viewed through their written work, both sides intersect through the use of a series of coincident or similar terms: doorstep, threshold (in a broad sense), space between, in-between, the as found, and the elementary. Yet, they also employ divergent terminologies that nonetheless appear to point toward the same horizon: charged void (by the Smithsons), twin phenomena (by Aldo), mat-building (Smithson), and configurative discipline (Aldo). We thus immerse ourselves in the world of words—which attempt to grasp and give meaning to the world. This horizon, what they seem to be trying to grasp, name, and ultimately materialize, is the notion of relativity and the pairs of inextricable associations it implies. To what extent do the Smithsons exist, acquire meaning, and gain value through the existence of the Van Eycks, and vice versa? How do they empower one another?
