PROFESSOR

Julia McMorrough

STUDIO THEME

In architecture, we swim in the (shark-infested?) waters of precedent (of the homage, the tribute, the style...). The Parthenon may have spawned the original MCU (Mostly Classical Universe) in its begetting of neoclassical offspring throughout history, from Moscow to Washington; Peter Eisenman’s Houses I-XI riffed on themselves; and Pei’s Louvre addition might claim DNA from both the Crystal Palace and the Great Pyramid of Giza. We don’t start from zero, and one thing always leads to another.

The SEQUELS studio acknowledges this practice, while asking what might happen if, borrowing more explicitly from the film industry, we claim the sequel as an operative design model? What will it mean to propose an architectural sequel?

A sequel is not a re-make. It is tied to, but continues, expands, even re-interprets, an earlier work. At its best, it forges new ground, learns from its predecessor, and makes new claims on the medium. At its worst, it languishes in the complacency of the familiar, hides behind outdated ideas, and attempts to re-capture the magic of the original without offering up a new set of possibilities. The SEQUELS studio looks to architectural precedents (cinemas and non-cinemas) not only for what they can teach us about the exigencies of program, site, and codes, but as the inspirations for a series of vibrant and cinematic architectural SEQUELS that make thoughtfully-grounded, boldly-novel proposals for movie theater designs.