The Dark Side of the Castle. The Castle Through the Eyes of Its Users and the Role of Architecture in the Conflict is a publication created in autumn 2013 by Lukas Lendzinski, Peter Wiegand and Alper Kazokoglu, members of Studio Umschichten, a Stuttgart-based architecture collective, during their residency at the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art.
In their practice, Studio Umschichten explore the relationship between architecture and social space. Their projects are usually site-specific and informed by interviews that the architects conduct to diagnose the needs or issues of their host institutions. Then this architectural ‘special unit’ comes up with potential remedies, whether social or spatial. Those are usually facetious projects, rooted in childish spontaneity and imaginativeness, executed in a tongue-in-cheek manner, yet highly apt in their diagnosis of the given situation. Umschichten’s working methods stand apart from the usual modes of architectural research. In Warsaw, they met with staff members of the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art, conducted interviews, talked and let others talk and tell their stories. To collaborate on the Warsaw project, Umschichten invited local draughtsman, Tymon Jezierski, who illustrated various issues experienced by the team.
If you wish to buy this book online and have it sent outside of Poland, please contact us: wydawnictwa@u-jazdowski.pl
