Paper short abstract:

The Plural Realities teaching practice aims to expand the object-oriented perspective on the built environment through an onto-theoretical approach - as an active and meaningful response to the ethical contradictions and ecological entanglements of our present.

Paper long abstract:

“If reality differs from person to person, can we speak of reality singular, or shouldn’t we really be talking about plural realities?” (Philip K. Dick)

In this paper I would like to share and discuss my teaching practice at the Faculty of Architecture at Nuremberg Tech, Germany. ‘Plural Realities’ ran over a period of 2 years and fostered non-anthropocentric and more-than-human perspectives on the world. Without following any particular STS methodology, but with the aim - and conceptual agreement - of creating a sense of the complexity of the world, I would certainly understand this teaching practice as very much driven by STS sensibilities. Plural Realities too aims to ‘break away from its modernist dualisms, grand promises, master architects and iconic starchitects’ and - I would add - from the idea that only chosen people are allowed to contribute to (architectural) theory, from solution-oriented thinking and other grand narratives, from fetishizations of the architectural object and objectifications of the unbuilt environment.

In this sense, I see learning, unlearning, and relearning as one of the most incredible capacities we have in relation to the ever-changing conditions of our present. As a teacher, my motivation is to encourage students to develop different approaches to architecture and to provide spaces for collaboration, but also to find new ways together to continually redefine the built and unbuilt environment with plural realities - as an active and sensible response to the ethical contradictions and ecological entanglements of our present.