climate change

Brief

Habére / Habitat

The Latin word "habére" (to have, or to "hold"), highlights and address multiple powerful meanings that refers, today, to the relationship with our environment. The word "abito," in Italian, stands for the noun "dress" but also for the verb "abitare," to "dwell" or to "inhabit," in English. In Italian, it also stands for "abitudine," or "habit," in the sense of "having good or bad habits" exactly like in the English sense. But, most important, it is also the root of the word "habitat" defining, in a more holistic way, our environment and the specific environmental condition in which a species lives, including humans.

These multiple meanings also hide an attitude that humans have towards the environment. On the one hand, it stands for something we "have" or "hold" like in the sense of a habit, of a dress, or a home. It is at the same time something symbolic, but also functional like a hut. On the other side, it is something in which we are held within, like a habitat. In other words, it describes an attitude that we keep in reaction to an external condition, but at the same time, it is the outer condition itself.

The etymological root of habère, well define the condition in which climate change forces us. A change of the state in which we are contained - our climate that affects our habitat - which forces us to change and adapt our habits or the way we dwell.

Based on the reading of the etymological routes of the word habitat, students will be asked to develop a concrete project that reflects upon the consequences of the deep meaning of "dwelling" considered in the broadest sense a result of the climate change in Switzerland. Students will be provided with three to five critical keys to frame the challenge and operate inside a contextualized discourse.

_We will take the notion of Climate Change as a Narrative, rather than inviting scientists on the topic to spoil beliefs/hysteria within
_We will set up a "Cardboard Laboratory" – a space to set up Props concerning the topic of climate change from different angles
_These angles are defined through the semiotics of habitat, in human action, wearables, housing, ecologies (group works)
_In the first 2 weeks the students set up a scence/setting out of cardboard (Laboratory for mind treatment on climate effects, space capsule for escapists, ...) students set up, in the next 2 weeks the students will build up a narrative written and performed/ acted and recorded for documentation
_The Cardboard Lab takes cardboard as a temporarily media of civilisation
_We curate and frame the seminar conceptually and hand content to the students
_They go for an explorative, hands-on, aesthetic reach approach in formulating their manifesto (perspective on the topic)

Timetable:

week 1

week 2

week 3

week 4

Materials to organize:
_How much cardboard shall we order and where? (C)
_Order (hot) glue and tape? (C > ITZ Shop)
_Space question (C > Mail to Corina and Flurina)
_Which media equipment do we need? (C)
_???

First notes

joëlle:

Notions of civilisation

agriculture
nomadism
civilisation / mathematics

traffic of merchandise / people

containers movements

flight traffic
travel

traffic of data

data as currency
data centres energy expense

data farms creating microclimates
underneath the visible
making trade visible

threats

nuclear plants

methods

science collaboration
science - designers
continuing research from previous years
atmosphere
powers of ten

heaven and earth
exploration of deep seas

objectives/questions

make outcome graspable
urgency
time pressure
what is the cost of living a quiet life?

antonio:
_
_

clemens:
_how to formulate hyperlocal experiences on a global topic?
_how would CO2 balancing (compensation and creation of it) affect cryptocurrency?
_uncovering human relationship to climate change in history
_different layers of the atmosphere get sold (in terms of finding "stable windows")
_ways of articulating climate through computational data, performances, political debates(climate change conference bonn) - (http://www.olafureliasson.net blog)
_material speculation workshop on clouds* as spin-off for the seminar (potentially, I could ask a professor for a Skype conversation within our seminar – I met her at MIT – Weather in a tank - cloudsYouTube)

*(f.l.t.r. Nebula (artificial cloud) exhibition in Zurich 2016, "Per-Forming Clouds" Workshops 2016-now, junior summer school on geo engineering/ cloud seeding "Stormy Weathers" at ZHdK 2017)

_personally wishful process/outcomes: narratives about living with our climate in 2100 (climate forces new materials to arise or stock markets exchanges), models and simulations of climate/ trading systems, instruments for observation)