Reima Pietilä and Gesture in Research-by-Design: The Finnish Embassy in New Delhi, 19621982
Abstract
This paper will discuss Reima Pietiläs Finnish Embassy (Suomen suurlähetystö) in New Delhi, India, in relation to the interplay of gesture and gesturality in the architects design process. It takes theoretical impetus primarily from Giorgio Agamben and Vilém Flusser, who both write extensively and insightfully on gesture and each promote philosophical trajectories from ontology-as-being towards ontology-as-becoming. The research-by-design inflection of this paper directs the ontology of gesture through a small selection of drawings from the Pietilä Archive,1 from the first and second phases of the buildings production, and photographs taken on site by the author in 2014.
The paper will offer a view not only of how gesture and gesturing lie at the heart of Reima Pietiläs design process, but also how the communicative dynamic of the gestural feeds speculation into and pursuit of understanding through architecture. Therefore, beyond framing a number of Reima Pietiläs design methods and ways of thinking, the paper will also address how gesture constitutes a core communicative principle in Reima Pietiläs research-by-design methodology, ultimately suggesting that this methodology holds relevance for contemporary architectural design and research.
The paper will offer a view not only of how gesture and gesturing lie at the heart of Reima Pietiläs design process, but also how the communicative dynamic of the gestural feeds speculation into and pursuit of understanding through architecture. Therefore, beyond framing a number of Reima Pietiläs design methods and ways of thinking, the paper will also address how gesture constitutes a core communicative principle in Reima Pietiläs research-by-design methodology, ultimately suggesting that this methodology holds relevance for contemporary architectural design and research.
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