Proximities / or Readings and Methods within Reflexive Formalism

“Making comparisons is the only good method in a world in which things take on consistency in relation to others. A comparison may be implicit or explicit, but without it, the mind could not function; [one] who knows one thing only, doesn’t even know that thing.” –Guido Piovene, Zodiac 8, “The Multiple Future of American Architecture”
 
If proximate means almost or close, it conveys the sense both of aesthetic difference and of spatial nearness. Its etymology, from the verb “proximare,” suggests the consideration “to approach.” As things approach each other…. some amount of affecting between the two will arise. The tone, the texture, the posture of marks. How things come together.
 
For film or literature, this reflexive method may be something like actors acting as actors. Like Pollack and Hoffman’s "Tootsie." Like Emily Eden’s coupled novels, “The Semi-Attached Couple & The Semi-Detached House.” For musicians, this may be more akin to reverb, or the empathy gained in the culture of covers.
 
For architecture, this seminar will explore the proximities within such reflexive formalisms. Through the serial production of architectural “readings,” each student will consider methods in reflexive form making.
 
Method in lieu of representation
Readings in lieu of image
 
The structure of the seminar will be in two parts

Part 1) a series of weekly readings and guest discussions
Part 2) the serial production of an architectural method