December 2018
Lost in Limbo
52/02
Lost in Limbo
transitional times / a moving / ongoing /a condition of prolonged uncertainty orneglect / an imaginary place for lost,forgotten, or unwanted persons or things/ a prison or confinement / an unknownintermediate place or condition betweentwo extremes / things cast aside / a landforgotten / an ideal out of date /
Editorial team
Elena Rossoni, Jan Pruszyński, Jack Oliver Petch, Sam Eadington
With contributions from
Ecaterina Stefanescu, Eva ten Velden, Ollie Palmer, Tom Hilsee
Cover design by
Editorial team
Editorial
What is ‘Lost in Limbo’ anyhow? It is a betweenness state. Not quite one thing, not quite the other. When being in the middle is impossible, nothing is clear. Limbo is the feeling you get when you need to decide if you’re hungry enough to go to the shops or if you have enough food in the cupboard. It is an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution. Lost in Limbo can mean finding your identity, it can mean not knowing how to act when you find out new information but also: being lost doesn’t always mean something bad, the unknown can be exhilarating.
This is the second edition of Bnieuws, our first time off the training wheels of the last team and the first time we’ve been working with our contributors. We gave them a series of prompts all about limbo and received some amazing articles that we know you will enjoy. We have only just begun, but this has been a great start to hear and represent more voices of the student body of BK. If you want to be involved, check out the last page for more info.
This issue, Elena has been investigating into what the repercussions are when catering bodies shift; Jan has been investigating who we, as architects, really design for and lastly, we’ve been thinking a whole lot about Brexit.
If you’re experiencing the stress of choosing new courses, we understand, we have all been there. “I want to pick this one, but my friend told me they are doing something different” or “I heard this tutor can be intimidating, maybe the one with the starchitect will look good on my CV.” The struggle is real but the solution is simple. Do your homework and speak to as many people as possible - tutors, current students or alumni - and create an opinion for yourself. Do not let the insane amount of options overwhelm you, every chair has its strengths and weaknesses. One thing to keep in mind is that regardless if you don’t get into your desired chair, you can always cultivate your own interests in one way or another. Keep doing what you are best at: being open to new possibilities and suggestions.
Lastly, our last piece of advice is to continue challenging the norms and we promise that you will make your final years of studying unforgettable.
Contents
From the editors
6 - 8
pg.
As the new academic year found TU Delft’s catering management completely altered, abrupt changes have occurred in all university faculties. In BK, these changes were particularly felt, as the Espresso Bar corner served more than just a daily dose of caffeine. The new prices and change of familiar staff have recently driven most users away; thankfully, students from our faculty decided to react and take charge of the situation.
9
pg.
As Night(s) of Philosophy, a working group of ARGUS, the Architecture Masters student association, this year we concern ourselves with questions of the post-anthropocene. This text is an extended version of one of our weekly blogs.
11 - 13
pg.
I have recently stumbled upon an article titled “Why you hate contemporary architecture” by Brianna Rennix and Nathan J. Robinson of the “Current Affairs” magazine. It was an extremely interesting read, as the authors are not architects themselves and their impressions of contemporary buildings were those of normal people. At first I was skeptic about how naive some of their ideas were, but the further into the article I got, the more I agreed with their comments. Perhaps there really is something wrong with much of modern architecture?
14 - 17
pg.
Politics can often be seen as a kind of theatre, a world apart from everyday life where a bunch of fools scream and shout and wave their arms like drunks disagreeing with a rural pup quizmaster. It can be funny and entertaining, but it clearly doesn’t matter much, otherwise people would be talking about it. Politics is clearly not as important as coffee. But what if it was? What if politics was in fact having a huge impact on the way we live our lives, the places where we can live, learn and work, the way we shape our very own sense of self? The United Kingdom is due to leave the European union on 29th March 2019, and for those of us who are from the UK, this matters. I spoke with Professor of Interiors Building Cities Daniel Rosbottom to find out about his views about politics within the faculty and the implications of Brexit on his life, his practice and his teaching.
20 - 21
pg.
As part of their research project, the Methods & Analysis graduation studio flew to Colombia and participated in a week-long workshop in collaboration with students from the University of the Andes in Bogotá. Editor Elena gives us an insight of her experience and overall encounter with the unique Colombian culture.
22 - 23
pg.
Gehuld in een wolk van rook kijk ik om me heen. Er is geen uitweg, geen punt van herkenning en geen duidelijkheid. Op het moment dat ik op het punt sta me om te draaien verandert de ongedefinieerde rookmassa van vorm. In plaats van een grijze waas verschijnen er letters en langzaam lees ik de tekst die voor mijn ogen in de lucht wordt geschreven.