theory unit — Carlos A. Segura

CARLOS A. SEGURA

ALL PROJECTS RESEARCH
INSTALLATIONS
WRITING & EDITING
TEACHING
SPEAKING
CONVENING
WIP

Teoría IV
Escuela de Arquitectura, LCI Veritas
San José, Costa Rica
2021-2024Third-year theory unit

In 2016, architect, editor, and researcher Elise Hunchuck “reviewed and read every article on the Anthropocene ever published” (available in the Web of Science repository, the largest database accessible at the time, now operated by Clarivate Analytics). By then, “Anthropocene” had been cited in 12,407 indexed articles. This course took Hunchuck´s Reading the Anthopocene and its initial statistical and visual framework as a poetical departure point, and offered a navigational route through this ocean of literature dedicated to that elusive concept and its many —seemingly— irreconcilable appropiations, which nonetheless carried considerable “scientific impact” on the world and on academic publishing.
Yet, in any given case—economic, migratory, or environmental— the recognition of theoretical work as a praxis that leaves a mark on the world did not in itself ensure the agency of architectural discourse in the public, private, or any other sphere. It did, however, provide an unprecedented opportunity: to intellectually challenge the evocation of a dividing line between theory and professional practice in architecture, starting from the marginal position that the field still claims for itself. For all practical purposes, the course examined various tangible and expanded forms of theoretical production (publications, exhibitions, installations, land appropriation, deforestation, the organization of biennials, just war, the designation of protected areas, terrorism, architectural projects, border redefinition, the design of curricula, art performance, legislation development, sabotage, and more).
This theory unit aimed to critically rethink the relationship between architectural practice —especially the production of theory— and the key actors in contemporary debates on economic, migratory, environmental, health, and human rights crises. Special emphasis was placed on the relationship between architecture, environment, and ecology —a relationship whose increasing complexity and accelerated expansion within architectural discourse presented a unique opportunity to pursue this objective.

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