MIDWEST STACK EXCHANGE
Commonly described as the "flyover states," the American Midwest has long served as an intrinsic yet under-recognized infrastructure for a coastal discipline. With 44 schools of architecture, 19 fellowships, and several internationally acclaimed institutions - such as the Walker Art Center and Graham Foundation - the Midwest is unquestionably a space of emergence.
The Midwest Stack Exchange (MSE) is a two-part project: First, it brings together the 44 schools of architecture in the Midwest through an annual, region-wide, pedagogical experiment that takes stock of the ways America’s interior has been a historical site for a coastal architectural discourse. Secondly, it creates a digital archive with interactive maps and chat functionality to support the ongoing dialogues. MSE examines the structuring of the American Academy, the role of the chair in architecture schools, and the circulation of thinkers across America's interior that have shaped the past 149 years of architectural discourse.
With the highest concentration of architecture fellowships in the United States, the Midwest has long been perceived as a place scholars go 'out' to in their early careers before returning to the coast. MSE seeks to undermine this categorization of the Midwest by tracing, documenting, and revealing the layers of overlooked dialogues, pedagogical frameworks, and modes of practice originating from the region since its first school of architecture, the University of Illinois, opened to the public in 1873.
Each year, MSE organizers from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee work with the 44 Department of Architecture Chairs from the 44 schools to orchestrate a region-wide pedagogical experiment that unearths and records the complex architectural legacies of the schools by reverse-engineering everything from local, alum-designed buildings to encounters at past lectures and events. By prioritizing the voice of the chair, the project asks what this figure reveals about the history of architecture schools in the United States. It also acknowledges the precarious realities of contingent labor, such as fellows, and their untenable workloads.
The Midwest Stack Exchange (MSE) is a two-part project: First, it brings together the 44 schools of architecture in the Midwest through an annual, region-wide, pedagogical experiment that takes stock of the ways America’s interior has been a historical site for a coastal architectural discourse. Secondly, it creates a digital archive with interactive maps and chat functionality to support the ongoing dialogues. MSE examines the structuring of the American Academy, the role of the chair in architecture schools, and the circulation of thinkers across America's interior that have shaped the past 149 years of architectural discourse.
With the highest concentration of architecture fellowships in the United States, the Midwest has long been perceived as a place scholars go 'out' to in their early careers before returning to the coast. MSE seeks to undermine this categorization of the Midwest by tracing, documenting, and revealing the layers of overlooked dialogues, pedagogical frameworks, and modes of practice originating from the region since its first school of architecture, the University of Illinois, opened to the public in 1873.
Each year, MSE organizers from the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee work with the 44 Department of Architecture Chairs from the 44 schools to orchestrate a region-wide pedagogical experiment that unearths and records the complex architectural legacies of the schools by reverse-engineering everything from local, alum-designed buildings to encounters at past lectures and events. By prioritizing the voice of the chair, the project asks what this figure reveals about the history of architecture schools in the United States. It also acknowledges the precarious realities of contingent labor, such as fellows, and their untenable workloads.
Supported by:
University of Colorado Denver, College of Architecture and Planning
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Collaborator:
Lindsey Krug
Facilitators:
Natalie Kuehl
University of Colorado Denver, College of Architecture and Planning
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Architecture and Urban Planning
Collaborator:
Lindsey Krug
Facilitators:
Natalie Kuehl
