Lucius Burckhardt
LUCIUS BURCKHARDT (1925–2003) was a Swiss political economist, sociologist, art historian and planning theorist and is well known as the founding father of “strollology” – his science of the walk. He was a pioneer of an interdisciplinary analysis of man-made environments and discussed both the visible and invisible aspects of our cities, landscapes, political processes and social relations, as well as the long-term effects of design and planning decisions.
He established the importance of sociology in architecture education and in 1969, in the aftermath of student revolts, he conceded to student demands by establishing at the ETH Zürich a professorial “sofa” in contrast to the professorial chair. This was the beginning of his project “Lehrcanapé”, a form of teaching focusing on issues of contemporary complexity that were representative of real professional difficulties and on solutions that ideally manifested an interdisciplinary approach. His experiment addressed the role of architecture in society and led to radical demands for more democratic, participatory structures in academic institutions.
Cedric Price
CEDRIC PRICE (1934–2003) was an English architect. His lateral approach to architecture and to time based urban interventions has ensured that his work has an enduring influence on contemporary architects and artists, from Bernard Tschumi and Rem Koolhaas, to Rachel Whiteread. His projects were governed by the belief that architecture must “enable people to think the unthinkable”. His project Fun Palace (1960–61), although unrealised, established him as one of the UK’s most innovative and thought-provoking architects. A collaboration with theatre director Joan Littlewood, the idea was to build a “laboratory of fun”, with facilities for dancing, music, drama and fireworks. Central to Price’s practice was the belief that through an appropriate use of new technology the public could have unprecedented control over their environment. Price critiqued the traditional university system and was interested in radically rethinking the basic concept of a university. In 1964, he presented his Potteries Thinkbelt project for the former mining and manufacturing area of Staffordshire, England. He proposed a mobile learning resource for 20,000 students utilising the railway infrastructure of a declining industrial zone. It offered a solution to the need for educational facilities in addition to providing a catalyst for economic and social growth for the area. Price wrote prolifically for architecture magazines throughout his career and was renowned for his uniquely entertaining and thought-provoking talks in architecture schools around the world. The Cedric Price Archive has been held at the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA), Montreal since 1995.