Repository
This Repository gathers a series of methods and assignments born from a shared interest in urban narratives. What can narratives tell us about how communities relate to place? How can existing stories of place allow us to write new narratives for the city? How can we read the stories that are inscribed in streets, on walls, and in architectural details? How can archives unveil hidden stories of places and buildings, and of their makers and users? How can we write the city by using our senses? This Repository can be seen as an invitation, encouraging scholars, students, and spatial practitioners to explore 49 methods, and, through clearly laid out assignments, take them out into the field.
Imagining Dialogues with Non-Human Creatures
How can we converse with those that do not speak our language? “How do you give a voice to a Thing, Plant or Animal? What does the Water tell us and what choices does the Iron make?” An imaginary dialogue is a device that can aid in an understanding of non-humans as fellow citizens, giving them a voice. Such a dialogue can take the form of an interview, in which you are the interviewer. The aim of an interview is to gain insight in the perspective of others, and to extract information about a certain topic from a protagonist who has knowledge about this topic - because of their expertise or experience.
Walking and Scoring
The most direct way to experience the (urban) landscape is by walking: a multisensory, active interaction with the urban landscape. When walking deliberately, the human body functions as a measuring device, exposing the city as a structure of spaces seen as well as felt, touched, and heard.
In Carlos Machado e Moura Dalia Milin Bernal Esteban Restrepo Restrepo Klaske Havik Lorin Niculae ed. Repository. 49 Methods and Assignments for Writing Urban Places Nai010 Publishers 2023. pp. 94-97 en 194-197.