Fetish
“What is a fetish? Something that is nothing in itself, but simply the blank screen onto which we have projected, erroneously, our fancies, our labor, our hopes and passions.”* – Bruno Latour in “Pandora’s Hope” The furious development of presentday technologies enables nearly unlimited new possibilities, both in terms of the process of architectural production as well as the applied materials, which have become susceptible to manipulation of its inherent properties and capabilities in virtually any amount. The organic and technical constraints of building materials are shi? ing rapidly and thereby enable the realisation and materialisation of radical concepts, which formerly unimaginable – increasingly inform contemporary architecture. In opposition to this tendency, a return to traditional artisanry, both in design and execution is observable. By what means is this type of architecture still bound to conceptual and constructive constraints and (how) does the zeitgeist materialise in it? What is the attitude of the eager presentday materials research towards longrange material experience? Is the contemporary architectural design still an interplay of artisanry, material and context, as Gottfried Semper once stated? What impact do new design methods and building materials have on projects, and thereby, on our surroundings?

The fourth edition of HORIZONTE – Journal for Architectural Discourse challenges the constraints and possibilities of architectural production, in order to reflect on the materialand constructive methodologies of the present day. Again, whether professional or amateur, essay-, project- or scientifi?c based, HORIZONTE seeks for relevant and critical observations from various? fields and professions.

Submission Guidelines:
- Proposals may be submitted as essays, projects, photographies etc.
- Contributors are kindly asked to send a 200-word abstract. Nonetheless further developed material can be sent along, too.
- Essays shall not exceed a maximum of 4000, a project, photographic essay etc. description not 500 words.
- Text files in .odt- or .doc-format. Drawings as .pdf, images as .ti?ff-files.
- Texts should be unformatted in either Times New Roman or Arial. No use of automatic footnote-functions. Please attach numbered annotations at the end of the text.
- Source citations should be formatted in Chicago Style. (see www.chicagomanualofstyle.org)
- Please send a short bio (max. 50 words).
- Submissions should not have been published previously.

Download .pdf.
All submissions via e-mail to horizonte@archit.uni-weimar.de. Deadline: 31.01.2012