Architecture Study Trip

Architecture is about places, their uses, and spatiality.

According to Le Corbusier, architecture is not conceived in the same way as “paintings”, i.e. from one, forward-looking position, as the observer is moving, more attentive, and can see the work from different positions.

L’architecture ne se voit pas d’une fois, elle se voit en la parcourant, en se tournant. Les hommes ont des yeux devant et non pas autour de la tête et ils ont les yeux à 1.60 m au-dessus du sol, et cela est péremptoire pour considérer les œuvres d’architecture. ^[1]

It is understandable that the observer’s movement with respect to the architectural work observed is essential to their perception and understanding. It seems that this understanding is based on the subjective experience of reality, and that it is through the observation of real situations that the knowledge of architectural space and its use in its setting transpires.

This leads us to think that, beyond the simple visual experience, architectural realities call upon the individual sensory experience that is realised through the different senses (vision, hearing, touch, etc.) and that its material reality can only be understood through personal psychological and subjective experiences in situ. Each individual is therefore called to repeat this experience of materiality through their own body, their own sensory abilities and their own experience.

It can be concluded that understanding “architecture” in its real dimensions is linked to the experience of the moving body in built environments.

This is why the interest of the study trip in architecture lies in the construction of the personal, sensory, emotional and referential path of the future architects. This experience is crucial to the emergence of architectural creativity, as future designers are confronted with the constructed reality of architecture.

Trips are scheduled throughout the student’s studies in architecture, with national and international destinations directly linked to their study programmes and thematic architectural workshops. They are partially funded by the Faculty of Architecture and Urban Planning, which offers aid to each student, and according to the chosen destination, to encourage and assist them in their discovery and training.

[1] Le Corbusier, Vers une architecture, éditions Crès et Cie, Paris, 1923.