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Recent events around the world have revealed we are in an age of upheaval, facing abrupt changes that have left us feeling perplexed. Humanity finds itself placed in a difficult position in which truth and stability cannot be realised in simple terms, demanding that we instead find them in their very opposites. When complex and contradictory situations do not offer simple solutions the notion of duality proves itself relevant. It provides a perspective on life which embraces the tension in the paradox of human existence.
With growing access to knowledge follows an increasing awareness of the fact that the solutions to our problems lie not in a one-sided view, but in the interplay of contradictions. UG4 interrogated the paradigm of antithesis, an exploration into the concept of duality in theory, creative process and spatial formation. We rejected simple answers to what we acknowledged to be fundamentally complex issues. From a wide holistic conceptual dissection of the brief condensing down to specific material interrogations, we explored the implications of antithesis as a conceptual and methodological design contraption.
To remain relevant to the context of human existence, the architecture of today must also find truth and stability in opposites. Duality exists regardless of the state of its recognition. As a matter of fact, architecture could not exist without fundamental dualities. The potential of inverses is not simply realised by pairing their contrasting nature. We were interested not only in the obvious outcomes of these pairings, but also – and more so – in the friction and dialogue produced at its point of contact: the architectural and socio-political threshold. With a strong plea for civility and a demand for society to be inclusive rather than exclusive, we welcomed uncertainties by embracing the hybrid rather than the ‘pure’, accommodating as opposed to ‘excluding’, and in turn appealing to disorganised vitality over obvious unity.
UG4 brings a sense of theatre, playfulness, innovation and context to the design of spaces – manifested through rigorous thinking and analysis, alongside testing and making. We reinterpret materials, revisit old crafts and techniques and approach design through both analogue and digital mediums, excited by the complementation of the two.