Unprofessional Studio

Unprofessional Studio sees its work as an interdisciplinary process based on the application of different methods: Model making, 1:1 mock-ups, film, photography, travel to laser scanning and photogrammetry. It uses the resulting spectrum of tools to engage with design tasks in a non-linear and ever-changing way.

The exhibition Urlaubsfotos illustrates this non-linear approach. The structure of the archive, presented by means of an interactive installation, attempts to overcome conventional hierarchies and create an open field as a basis for new references and free work. In contrast to image data that is arbitrarily available on the net, each photo is connected to a precise personal experience.
Thus, Urlaubsfotos simultaneously thematizes the importance of one's own physical experience of material, space, and city. The ambiguous title suggests that this is less a matter of purely rational experience and more a reflection of architecture as context. And, of course, every architect is familiar with the fact that vacations are always made with the analytical eye trained by daily practice, and routes are oriented to architectural icons.

Unprofessional Studio describe it this way: their own idea of buildings and projects is often a mixture of ubiquitous architectural photos, plans, details and explanations. It is something else to finally visit myths, idols and perfectly told stories yourself. Extend the vacation route for this once again with a detour. Landscape, neighborhood and finally the object. Now comes the comparison with reality: Hmm, much smaller than expected. Ah, great detail. Great building, thanks for the coffee. Photos on the server and done. Looking at architecture is primarily a physical experience in addition to the comparison of imagination and reality. In addition to scale and spatial references, one primarily covers the hardly conveyable qualities such as temperature, acoustics and smell. The experiences of the day write a little story around the place and store themselves in our memory.

Last but not least, with the photos published on its website, Unprofessional Studio questions the relevance of archives today. After working with image and material archives was part of the daily design process for generations of architects, their meaning is changing radically in the face of digital tools. Against this background, the vacation photos are seen as an alternative to standardized design methods that are becoming increasingly efficient due to economic pressure. Although the archive is technically up to date, it also testifies to the belief in the built and its (so far) uncopyable, authenticity-creating qualities.