"We Have Decided Not to Die": A Arquitetura Procedimental de Shusaku Arakawa e Madeline Gins

Abstract

The inevitability of death cannot be passively accepted. The subject must actively pursue the reversal of their destiny. Firstly, what constitutes the subject at stake? The "I" of the subject is formed by its perception. Its perception is a result of the architectural surround. The subject is a product of their perception of the surrounding and thus cannot be defined dissociated from it. Secondly, why is the subject still mortal? The inevitability of death is a preconception. Preconceptions come from habit. The habitual does not allow for alternative perceptions. Alternative perceptions lead to alternative destinies. As a result of the habitual surroundings that seem to fail at stimulating alternative perceptions and at redefining the subject's physical and mental limitations. Thirdly, how can the subject revert its destiny? Any problem requires a specific set of actions in order to be solved. A specific set of actions is a procedure. An architectural surround that sets in motion a specific set of actions initiates an architectural procedure. Through architectural surrounds that are strategically organized to initiate architectural procedures that help turn the subject into a more skilled version of itself. A habitual architectural surround, one that stimulates a habitual perceptions, equates to a subjet psysically and mentally deadened. An architectural surround that is perceptually both more complex and challenging equates to a more skilled subject.