During the Covid-19 pandemic we have been forced to retreat into private shelters and to question the limits of residential typologies. The villa is an obvious example of such a shelter. It has reemerged as an object of desire, because of the urge to escape the boundaries of our own four walls. Throughout history this typology has been rethought and reinvented by architectural greats who sought to break radically with the tradition of their times. But what does it mean to us to design a villa during a period of isolation and lockdown? The answer is not clear. The villa has always been both a dream home for clients and a means of expression for architects. It combines architecture's most primitive function - to create a liveable shelter - with an architect's endeavour to manifest their ideology in a single building. During an online design studio held at the Dessau School of Architecture, students from ten countries discussed the identities of the villa and their cultural context. The design of private shelters helped to overcome the paralysis of public life. This publication showcases some of the next generation's most promising ideas. Moreover, it aims to explore new methods for online teaching, which could serve as a reference for institutions in a post-COVID world.

Hersteller:
DOM publishers
Dr. Philipp Meuser
info@dom-publishers.com
Caroline-von-Humboldt-Weg 20
DE 10117 Berlin

Natascha Meuser (born 1967, Erlangen) architect, PhD. Professor at the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. Studied in Rosenheim (Interior Design) and in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of Technology (Architecture). Numerous publications in the field of building typology. Founder of ZooArc, the Institute of Zoo Architecture.