Davidson and Rafailidis Stop-Motion Project Selected for Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2016
Still from "Continual Collective Construction,” a stop-motion animation by Stephanie Davidson and Georg Rafailidis. The animation projects into the future of a vacant Buffalo lot they purchased in 2014, demonstrating “a modest vision for architecture in which form reflects a very specific strategy: to build, over time, with minimal means.” Drawing courtesy of Davidson Rafailidis
Published February 24, 2016 This content is archived.
by Lisa Gagnon
A stop-motion animation about low-resource architectural possibilities for a distressed urban site, produced by UB architect duo Stephanie Davidson and Georg Rafailidis, has been selected for the 4th Lisbon Architecture Triennale in Portugal next fall.
One of 14 projects chosen from an international field of 73 proposals, “Continual Collective Construction” views architectural form as constantly evolving, never finished, and intricately tied to the spatial needs, desires and whims of its users and financial backers.
“The project shows how architecture can emerge from a strict set of parameters - very little money, a little plot in a less-than-ideal neighborhood, and a few people with different skills who are determined to make something happen,” explain Davidson and Rafailidis, both architecture faculty members at UB. “It is a modest vision for architecture, in which form reflects a very specific strategy, to build, over time, with minimal means.”
Assembled from original drawings and collages, the three-minute animation is strung together with a handwritten narrative describing how the form of the building, an actual vacant lot purchased by the Davidson and Rafailidis in 2014, might evolve over the years. Although set in Buffalo, New York, the premise can be imagined all over the world, the authors say.
For their project, Davidson and Rafailidis draw from two previous works: "Continual Construction,” their concept for building incrementally over several decades to avoid mortgages and hefty interest payments; and "Free Zoning,” a proposal to renew a derelict strip mall through its careful demolition and reassembly into smaller, multi-purpose buildings.
The 2016 Lisbon Architecture Triennale, entitled “The Form of Form,” focuses on the practice of architecture within a rapidly transforming social context. It runs Oct. 6 through Dec. 11, 2016, embedded in the fabric of Lisbon and the surrounding region. This year’s triennale features a variety of formats such as workshops, documentaries, guided tours, documental cinema and exhibitions.
Stephanie Davidson and Georg Rafailidis taught at RWTH University in Aachen Germany before starting an independent practice, Davidson Rafailidis, in 2008. Since joining the faculty of UB’s School of Architecture and Planning in 2010, Davidson and Rafailidis have won international competitions and awards for their collaborative projects, including MirrorMirror and Café Fargo.