When we think of buildings — whether that be a hospital, a house, a church, or a school — there is an expectation of what elements will compose our architectural spaces. The list is long but standard. Each of these elements (a door, a window, a wall, a column, a roof, etc.) has its own inherent function and strategic placement in the sequence of space. Although the aesthetic characteristics vary, the independence of these objects remains. This reduction often compartmentalizes elements into discrete pieces of a larger architectural body. It suggests a visual culture where artifacts accumulate independently, with limited functional and formal interplay. The persistence within society to reuse this same architectural narrative, only with slight cosmetic variations, has a multi-origin history rooted in culture, code requirements, politics, and technology.

The process by which an architectural element is transformed can broadly be called one of translation. The term, understood commonly to describe a conversion between languages, has an essential history for architects who primarily deal with other types of translations: drawing to building, diagram to project, sketch to model.

Mixed Mannerisms investigates the notion of translation through the production of cross-pollinating two existing architectural components from Ithaca, New York. Students use modes of parafiction and counterfactual history to develop narratives and functions for these elements, employing estrangement to generate novel ideas for conceptualizing the built environment.

The student projects featured in this exhibition are from Design Teaching Fellow Catherine Wilmes's fall 2023 seminar (ARCH 3308/4509/6308/6509).