You can move and zoom in this image, or click on the left / right half to see the previous / next one.
Chicago Biennale - 'Make New History'
Unconnotated Happiness
Chicago, United States of America
2017
Status: built
Client: Chicago Architecture Biennial, Chicago
Local architect: Ursin Niderberger
Collaborators:
On invitation Title of Biennale: 'Make New History' Work: First of all: Just look! -- -- -- How do you feel about what you see in front of you? My hope is that you feel good, that you like it, even though you might not really grasp what it is. My starting point is my own repeated experience of happy feelings in front of certain objects that did not or did not readily make sense to me and thus did not mean anything to me. Feeling happy is normally triggered by perceiving or thinking of something meaningful und pleasant. However, brain research has demonstrated that pure electric stimulation or certain drugs produce happiness (and other emotions) as well. I nourish the hypothesis that an observation without interpretation and without understanding can as well induce happiness (and other emotions). With what you see in front of you, I try to confront you with something pleasant or nice (well, you know the old discussion about what aesthetics is), while trying to prevent you from producing ready cognitive connotations. By this I hope to arouse a state of good feelings in you. I do this with the help of two means: (1) The object is intended to represent nothing. (2) If nevertheless connotations come to your mind, they should not be conclusive or even contradictory. Typically, good architecture produces connotations that render the observers happy. But does it always need connotations? My proposition is that we also should produce architecture that is less cognitively suggestive but more open in terms of connotations of meaning. -- -- -- Therefore: Just look and enjoy!