Kaputt; A path is Formed by Walking

Abstract

The project is an embodied architectural exploration, a method acting routine where we surrender to a neglected building. We live with it, learn from it, and care for it. Through this hands-on method, we seek to understand architecture not as an act of creation, but as a practice of maintenance, presence, and care. Our aim is to worry, to care, to maintain. Through focusing on and valuing what already exists, we find meaning in the act of tending to the overlooked and “hopeless” structures that lie beyond market logic. By living in and with a building: listening, mapping, drawing, connecting and repairing, we create a routine of slowness, where architectural knowledge is learned through the body, through trying, asking and time. The process suggests how architects can adopt a practice in tune with the ecological limits of our planet and a practice that is seeing value beyond the logic of economic growth. The project aims to transform our understanding of the architectural practice, exploring how attention, care, and maintenance can become tools for a more meaningful, and situated way of working. The process is inherently political. Interviews with practitioners working with tangential questions were used as a tool to gain insights on how to formulate the practice. Study visits were used to get practical knowledge on building methods, materials and maintenance. Through living in the house, we were able to map and research the interventions crucial to keep it from further decay. A selection of interventions were made. The thesis shows the knowledge gathered through being, doing and living in the house. We formulated a practice with the creation of a sense of home at its core. Over time, the value of the house changed noticeably for us. The path was formed by walking.