Now-ness

'The knowledge of impermanence that haunts our days is their very fragrance.' – Rainer Maria Rilke, Sonnets to Orpheus: Part Two, XXVII 

‘Becoming’ represents the inevitability of transience – what the Germans call Vergänglichkeit. It exists in the space between change and flow, between vanitas and futility, between Buddhist impermanence (anitya) and the ‘feeling of things’ of Japanese aesthetics (mono no aware). This idea extends to performance art, appearing in both artistic and philosophical manifestations as the concept of the ‘now’, or ‘now-ness’. 

As it attracts and frustrates, due to the difficulty of defining the true nature of time, the concept of ‘now’ and/or ‘now-ness’ takes on elusive, provocative and fruitful connotations. It has crossed cultures and civilisations, people and places, and countless interpretations have been proposed to unveil and reveal. For example, the nature of the relationship between being and time, or more recently, with ‘present-ness’ – a kind of fleeting sense of reality. This concept has crossed and informed movements such as Impressionism and the Japanese Ukiyo-e. 

Join The Bartlett School of Architecture for a series of presentations and a roundtable event as we consider what is the ‘now’ for architects today. Speakers will explore various notions of time, ranging from flowing time (chronos), to transcendent time (aion), to the qualitative aspect of time (kairos). How do we, as architects and designers, relate to the actuality of our experiences of the world? How does architecture present itself as an agent for change, anticipation or cure? How can designing, building and intervening in today’s environment resonate with our anthropogenic habitats and cities? And how does this align with our experience of the present and future?  

Please note this event is first-come, first-served and is limited capacity. 

This event is co-hosted and co-funded with the Khōrein Journal of Architecture and Philosophy: 

Speakers 

• Charlotte Skene Catling: Architect, author and co-founder of Skene Catling de la Peña
• Jonathan Wolff: Alfred Landecker Professor of Values and Public Policy, Oxford University
• Petar Bojanić: Professor of Philosophy, University of Belgrade and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Khōrein Journal
• Andrea Canclini: Lecturer, Lancaster University and editorial board member of Khōrein Journal 
• Lidia Gasperoni: Associate Professor and Co-Director of Design, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL 
• Stelios Giamarelos: Associate Professor, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL 
• Aya Jazaierly: Lecturer, Loughborough University and Member of Khōrein Journal Editorial Board  
• Mpho Matsipa: Associate Professor and Co-Director of Spatial Justice, The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
•  Snežana Vesnić: Assistant Professor, University of Belgrade and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Khōrein Journal  

More information

• Khōrein Journal of Architecture and Philosophy

Image: Yayoi Kusama, Narcissus Garden, Stainless steel spheres in Tadao Ando's Benesse House Museum, Valley Gallery in Naoshima, Japan. Photograph by Aya Jazaierly