COME SENSE US

This is not just a workshop.

This is a f*cking movement.

It's the movement movement. And it will completely change your way of designing architecture.

Project description for Kuki Wonderland 3.0

Based on the success of the KUKI WONDERLAND workshop series CSU will give a restricted group of participants the opportunity to work on a body centered approach to design. The notion of soma (a.k.a. the body) is more and more gaining significant importance in architectural theory. Academia recognizes the relevance of giving the human body the deserved attention not only in terms of scale. Literature, lectures and workshops are increasingly putting the body and sensual perception into the center. The time for smart design has begun.

By thinking about the body and thinking through the body we surpass the mere material and raw way of understanding space. Body and mind are a complex symbiotic system with manifold abilities – perceiving and processing are just two basic ones. 

With a comprehensive theoretical foundation and the practical experience of the last years – not only on EASA but also in between – we want to provide a multi-stage process beginning with the focus on individual body awareness developing to a collective spatial experience. 

This workshop is about self-improvement. 

Since the separation of body and mind is a concept which has repeatedly proven wrong we are focusing on the interdependencies of the whole somatic system. The body forms our thoughts and the thoughts our body. It's a freaking symbiosis. Sum ergo cogito. 

Recent studies in cognitive science found (as no surprise) a strong relationship between the wellbeing of the body and the quality of cognitive processes. Our thinking and perception is not just a processing of external influences but deeply dependend on the physical conditions of the body. And the body is influenced by the environment – that's where it gets decisive for architects. This reflections will have a major impact on the architectural discourse. 

The goal of the workshop is an intellectual one. We are not necessarily interested in leaving something behind in the physical world. We want to have a longlasting effect on people's ability to reflect the interdependencies of body and space. 

When the notion/idea is the basis for any architectural creation and the creating mind is dependend on the state of the body then our aim is to improve the awareness of this state to improve the quality of the creation process. 

The set of methods we use reach from individual physical exercises to collective performative interventions. With a constantly growing network of followers and experts from different areas like Somaesthetics, Yoga, Karate, Medicine, Feldenkrais, Dance, Meditation, etc. we keep on developing the concept, refine the methodology and broaden the research. Through the years we discovered that Kuki (as we call it) is a stance to life, what you can not leave behind after two weeks of active practising. The Kukiosys Experience. 

The exploration of body limits and possibilities is shifting boundaries of human awareness and thus push the boundaries of the design process. Experimenting with different techniques that do not have a tangible relationship with architecture inevitably expands the participants understanding of creative process and force them to investigate the existence of connections that they were not aware of. 

Referring to our latest EASA workshops (Kuki Wonderland in 2012 and Rekukivate in 2013) we already have a clear picture about our working processes, worked out by investigating on our blase machineries, our own alienated bodies, understanding the mind as an integrated part. We like to experiment with different methods, which means we combine diverse theoretical background implemented in physical activities to create our own language. Through various excercises we are realizing all our bodyparts and their connection to each other, as a BODY with three-dimensional extent and scope, we could expand our mental limits through the rising awareness of our movements. We became fully aware of its physical behaviour, its mechanics, structure, temperature and feeling of its surface. 

Step by step we are able to see ourselves not only as an independent item of the space, but we become able to change collectively from one second to another as a joint body, building on intentions of each others bodies. These and many other creatively challenging activities sharpen all our senses besides our way of thinking causing the anticipated consequences. We use this uncommon condition as a tool of awaking creativity (including for instance methods by the International Situationists like common dérive, or fantasy development exercises by Miklós Erdély). Our home is outside the comfort zone, that's where the fun begins. 

NOTE

We take a maximum of ten participants. 
Please bring comfortable clothes and sports shoes. 

SCHEDULE

Day 1: Introduction, basic theories 
Day 2: Theoretical input, lectures 
Day 3: Theoretical input, reading 
Day 4: Reflection, discussion 
Day 5: Practical research: personal sphere 
Day 6: Practical research: group sphere 
Day 7: Practical research: collective sphere 
Day 8: Practical research: natural/built environment 
Day 9: Cohesion, solidification 
Day 10: Condensation, collecting and organizing output 
Additional: daily physical routines 

TUTORS

Zsófia Paczolay, Hungary (Architect) 
Zsófia Szőke, Hungary (Architect) 
Dubravko Aleksic, Bosnia (Architect) 
Patrick Jaritz, Austria (Architect)