Over the course of four years Diploma 2 has explored the idea of self-governance, this year researching how such an insular condition affects the notion of domesticity. The site for exploring these ideas was Cuba, a country whose historical autonomy is effectively becoming more interdependent and complex as its economy gradually opens up to the world. The aim then has been to uncover hidden tendencies or areas of opportunity and to nest our partially or fully self-governed proposals within their already autonomous, albeit volatile, context.
Housing is a main issue that has been explored from various perspectives. Jing proposed a prototypical building that can be replicated in disused urban sites and consists of an openly occupied lower space and private market development. For Nicolas, political and social changes have typically resulted in cul-de-sac-like domestic spaces that are now designed to absorb change through flexibility. Michael rethought the conventional housing typology by proposing a purposefully complex domestic layout to respond to life’s contingencies. Duc proposed an open, short- and long-term stay framework designed with minimal private and abundant public space. Eleonora’s project questioned UNESCO’s facade-centric approach to restoration and proposed that domestic spaces also need to be preserved as relics of days gone by. For Rachel, utilising the renowned Cuban health system to treat patients with infectious diseases resulted in a new type of urbanism of isolation. Bozar explored the theme of the ‘state of the exception’, proposing a building where this state could be managed and ideas of monumentality and symbolism could be explored. Lastly, Li’s proposal for a socialist factory that systematises and opens up the current model of informal goods bartering was a move towards addressing the inequalities engendered by an imminent open-market takeover.
Miraj Ahmed
Carlos Villanueva Brandt
Ryan Dillon
Marie-Hélène Fabre
Felix Fassbinder
Maria Fedorchenko
Kenneth Fraser
Evan Greenberg
David Greene
Karsten Huneck
Barbara Campbell Lange
Theo Lalis
Hander Lara
Tyen Masten
Ricardo de Ostos
Dakis Panagiotou
Brent Patterson
Chris Pierce
Ben Reynolds
Simon Rowe
Yoandry ‘Chapo’ Sapoten
Giselle Soto
Theodore Spyropoulos
Marco Vanucci
Andrew Yau
Didier Faustino xplores the relationships between architecture and the arts, between body and space. His approach is multifaceted, from artistic installations to experimentation, from subversive visual artworks to spaces designed as a tool for sharpening our senses and our awareness of reality.
Kostas Grigoriadis studied architecture at the Bartlett School, UCL followed by a Master in Architecture and Urbanism at the AA's Design Research Laboratory. Having previously worked for Foster+ Partners, he is currently co-designing a large-scale mixed-use development in New Delhi and pursuing a PhD in Architecture at the Royal College of Art in London.
