An attempt at exhausting a building
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5821/jida.2025.13610Keywords:
architecture, Research by Design, artists notebook, architectural analysis, graphical communicationAbstract
Inspired by a text by Georges Perec, we developed the exercise titled “An attempt at exhausting a building.” Over the course of a semester, each student investigated a contemporary building located in Madrid. Through sustained engagement with the site, including numerous in-person visits, students explored the temporal and experiential dimensions of architecture, uncovering aspects that often elude superficial observation. The research was documented in a notebook that integrated both visual and written techniques. Employing the Research by Design (RbD) methodology, the notebook was conceived not as a final product, but as a medium for inquiry through design. As in a design project, students were required to study the assigned environment, define an analytical framework, and design the spatial structure of the notebook. Through an iterative process, the notebooks evolved into projective tools that combined analysis, reflection, and action, emphasizing the value of the urban environment as a laboratory and drawing as a method of investigation.
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