Coded Objects
Lise Meitner Group Anna-Maria Meister
In un momento in cui la progettazione e la distribuzione dell’informazione sono diventate un motore dominante della politica e dell’economia mondiali, le implicazioni formali e materiali dei “codici” rimangono spesso inosservate o incontrollate, così come i concomitanti cambiamenti di agency e i tentativi di programmare la società attraverso pratiche spaziali e formali. Per questo motivo, il gruppo di ricerca guarderà allo spazio del coding non come a una tecnologia astratta o a un’attività remota, ma alla programmazione degli oggetti attraverso il design. Cosa significherebbe considerare gli oggetti codificati non come un denominatore stabile, ma come un’indagine metodologica sulle operazioni di creazione della forma e sulla materia del design? Con la forma come punto di accesso epistemico, il gruppo di ricerca multidisciplinare indaga il ruolo delle forme materiali nei processi automatizzati. In breve, questo progetto si concentrerà sul pensiero proto-algoritmico come pratica materiale e spaziale.
Prendere sotto esame gli oggetti codificati metterà in discussione qualsiasi dicotomia prestabilita tra design e burocrazia o ipotesi di tecnologia “neutrale”. Indagare la forma dei processi e degli oggetti che essi producono – localizzando i movimenti del design in sistemi immaginati come automatizzati – promette di svelare attriti e affinità, affinché le ricerche del gruppo possano avere un impatto sul presente. Quello che ci importa è, per così dire, la materia dei processi. Dare forma alle cose viene spesso mascherato dalla retorica della “neutralità” tecnologica, ma data la circolazione globale di immagini e oggetti e il design incorporato all’interno dello scambio di informazioni, le operazioni di creazione di forme e la questione del design richiedono un esame più attento. Questo progetto intende individuare i discorsi sulle responsabilità, le aspirazioni e le tecniche di formazione dei valori attraverso i mezzi estetici. Dopo tutto, ciò che viene codificato non sono solo oggetti o attività, ma soggetti.
Osservando gli oggetti codificati che ci circondano come un insieme di negoziazioni umane, materiali ed estetiche, il gruppo vuole spostare l’attenzione sull’importanza delle intenzioni formali (e delle
conseguenze) nei processi e nei programmi predefiniti. Allo stesso tempo, considererà la creazione della forma degli oggetti come una pratica locale e culturalmente molto specifica, sia che si tratti di una modellazione deliberata da parte di esperti, che di soluzioni intelligenti sviluppate dalle comunità. Partendo dal lavoro critico sulla “precisione”, l’“oggettività” o l’“efficienza tecnologica”, in particolare la loro messa in discussione attraverso metodi femministi e queer, il gruppo studierà le pratiche sviluppate dagli shape-givers insieme ai ‘burocrati’ per creare forme (sia storicamente che nella contemporaneità). Le tecniche di creazione non serviranno solo come strumento di conoscenza, ma anche come set di abilità e strumento nelle operazioni di oggetti (sempre comunque) codificati.
Il gruppo comprende posizioni di dottorato e post-dottorato, progetti di ricerca collaborativi e individuali, nonché ospiti scientifici, puntando a un’ampia gamma di risultati scientifici e di outreach e
basandosi su tre modalità di ricerca: un lavoro d’archivio rigoroso e approfondito per scoprire e valutare casi di studio; un intenso scambio interdisciplinare verso una terminologia e metodologie condivise; e, infine, una forte attenzione al fare come forma di conoscenza, vale a dire alle competenze tangibili, materiali e formali e all’esperienza sensoriale dei formgivers e delle loro pratiche.
Se veda anche l'articolo di Anna-Maria Meister:
Coded Objects: The Forms of Proto-Algorithmic Thinking.
Lise Meitner Research Group Anna-Maria Meister
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Books
Medina Warmburg, Joaquín, Anna-Maria Meister, Martin Kunz, and Mechthild Ebert. Frei Otto. Building with Nature. München London New York: Prestel Verlag (2025).
Anna-Maria Meister, Teresa Fankhänel, Lisa Beißwanger, Chris Dähne, Christiane Fülscher and Anna Luise Schubert (eds). Are You a Model? On an Architectural Medium of Spatial Exploration. Berlin: Jovis Verlag (2024).
https://jovis.de/en/book/9783986120726
Hansun Hsiung, Laetitia Lenel and Anna-Maria Meister. Entangled Temporalities. Special Issue of the "Journal of the History of Knowledge" (2023).
https://journalhistoryknowledge.org/issue/view/839
Book Chapters
Meister, Anna-Maria. „Frei Ottos Architekturlehre: eine gesellschaftliche Formfindung [Frei Otto Teaching Architecture: Form-Finding for Society]“ in Medina Warmburg, Joaquín, Anna-Maria Meister, Martin Kunz, and Mechthild Ebert. Frei Otto: Bauen mit der Natur [Frei Otto: Building with Nature]. München London New York: Prestel Verlag (2025)
Karina Pawlow. "TikTok’s Duet Feature: Prodused Images in Political Contexts and Beyond". In Cinematic Images. The Digital Condition of Moving Images. Lars Grabbe, Patrick Rupert-Kruse, Norbert Schmitz (Hg.). Büchner: Marburg (2024). 119-145.
https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/98526
Rebecca Carrai. "The IKEA Suburb. A Catalogued Imagery of Single-Family Housing". In What's Next for Mom and Dad's House? Edited by Federico Zanfi and Martino Tattara. Spector Books. (2024). 69-87.
Anna-Maria Meister and Mechthild Ebert. "The Powers of Metadata: Stories of Fragile Knowledge Constructions". In Architecture Archives of the Future. Proceedings of the Tenth Annual Conference of the Jaap Bakema Study Center (November 2023). 201–208.
Anna-Maria Meister. "Processing Models, Modelling Processes for the HfG Ulm ca. 1952". In Designing the Computational Image, Imagining Computational Design. Edited by Daniel Cardoso Llach and Theodora Vardouli. Oro Editions (2023). 80–83.
Articles
Virginia Marano. “Beyond the ‘White Cube’: Intersecting Art and Design in Hospital Spaces”. In PAD: Pages on Arts and Design, special issue “Art and Design in the Workplace,” no. 27, vol. 17 (2024): 123-147. ISSN: 1972-7887. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.padjournal.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/27PAD-122024.pdf
Meister, Anna-Maria. “Coded Objects: A Material Method”. In Technology|Architecture + Design, 8 (2) (2024). 183–86. DOI:10.1080/24751448.2024.2405343.
Virgina Marano, Charlotte Matter and Laura Valterio. "Bodily Matter and Complex Embodiment in the Art of Donald Rodney". In RACAR: Journal of the Universities Art Association of Canada (2024). vol. 49, no.2
Rebecca Carrai. "Degrowth to Architecture". In Stoà. Open Seminar (June 2024). 16-24.
https://files.cargocollective.com/c979116/24_sto--open-seminar.pdf
Anna-Maria Meister. "Coded Objects: The Forms of Proto-Algorithmic Thinking". In Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences (November 2023). 53 (5): 518–528.
https://online.ucpress.edu/hsns/article/53/5/518/198194/Coded-ObjectsThe-Forms-of-Proto-Algorithmic
Hansun Hsiung, Laetitia Lenel and Anna‐Maria Meister. "Introduction". In Journal for the History of Knowledge, 4 (2023). 9–32. DOI: 10.55283/jhk.17017
https://journalhistoryknowledge.org/article/view/17017
Anna-Maria Meister. "Chernobyl’s Palimpsestic Shelters". In Journal for the History of Knowledge, 4 (2023). 165–192. DOI: 10.55283/jhk.12570
https://journalhistoryknowledge.org/article/view/12570
Reviews
Virgina Marano. "Relocating Modernism: Global Metropolises". Modern Art and Exile (METROMOD). A digital exile archive and urban mapping project. In Exilforschung. Ein internationales Jahrbuch, Band 42/2024: Exil und Emotionen. Edited by Esther Kilchmann and Sebastian Schirrmeister. Berlin, Boston: DeGruyter (2025). 325-327.
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111329345/html
2025
Glass Crafting Workshop, 16.05.2025, Murano - Venice
The Lise Meitner Group visited Murano in the Venetian Lagoon. The trip was organized by doctoral fellow Karina Pawlow, whose research focuses on early modern glass objects. During a workshop, the group learned about the intricacies of traditional glassmaking techniques and the material properties of glass. Under the guidance of artisans at the Scuola del Vetro, participants had the opportunity to experiment with lampworking to create glass beads, as well as with glass cutting and fusing.
Visit of the Gucci Archive, 18.03.2025, Florence
The Lise Meitner Group and KHI fellow Elisa Palomino organized a visit for KHI members to the Gucci Archive at Palazzo Settimanni in Florence. The guided tour offered insight into the brand's evolution—from the first iterations of the iconic Bamboo Handle Bag to the broader visual identity of the Gucci name. The tour provided rare access to the collection's meticulously curated objects, offering a unique perspective on fashion historiography and archival practices in the luxury fashion industry.
"Coffee+Jam," 25.02.2025, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT)
No colloquium, no lecture, no formalities: at this research brunch, work in progress is discussed in a relaxed setting. Across status groups and degrees of elaboration, researchers exchange ideas and projects in a constructive and cooperative atmosphere. "Coffee+Jam" is organized by the Professorship of Architectural Theory at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in cooperation with the Lise Meitner Group. http://at.ekut.kit.edu/1290.php
2024
Visit of the Ferragamo Archive, 17.12.2024, Florence
The Lise Meitner Group and KHI fellow Elisa Palomino organized a visit for KHI members to the Fondazione Ferragamo at Palazzo Spini Feroni in Florence. The group toured the research archive, exploring documents, prototypes, and materials from the brand’s history, and visited the former production basement used for assembling shoes and bags. In the afternoon, they visited the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo, viewing an exhibition of historic shoes, bags, photographs, and films showcasing Ferragamo’s creative legacy and impact on fashion.
Launch of the Research Center saai | iaas, 27.11.2024, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) With the newly launched research center iaas [international architectural archival studies], research is located in the archive itself. With projects on metadata genesis or ordering structures in the estates, the iaas makes use of its unique position in the saai | Archive for Architecture and Engineering utilizing the synergies of the interdisciplinary team and the links between analog and digital processes, from two-dimensional files to three-dimensional models, the time lapses of long-term storage to the speed of AI-controlled data acquisition, and from material restoration processes to digital erosion. The saai | iaas is a partner institution of the Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects."
https://www.saai.kit.edu/1695.php
Launch of an international residency program at the saai, 27.11.2024, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) Starting in 2025, the Wüstenrot Foundation will fund 3 fellows who will have the opportunity to research and work in residency at the saai | Archive for Architecture and Engineering for 4-6 weeks in early summer. The residencies are aimed at researchers at all career levels. The saai is a partner institution of the Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects."
https://www.saai.kit.edu/1782.php
"Coffee+Jam," 04.09.2024, KHI, Florence
No colloquium, no lecture, no formalities: at this research brunch, work in progress is discussed in a relaxed setting. Across status groups and degrees of elaboration, researchers exchange ideas and projects in a constructive and cooperative atmosphere. "Coffee+Jam" is organized by the Professorship of Architectural Theory at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in cooperation with the Lise Meitner Group.
http://at.ekut.kit.edu/1290.php
Visit of the Carrara marble quarries with accompanying screening of "Quarry" by Amie Siegel, 01.07.2024
The Lise Meitner Group "Coded Objects" organized a field trip for KHI members to the Carrara marble quarries, accompanied by a screening of "Quarry" by Amie Siegel. During the guided tour, the group visited three types of open quarries and one underground quarry in the Apuan Alps. They discussed the environmental and economic processes of marble extraction, as well as the related industries—from family-owned quarries to large, global industrial operations—behind the diverse uses of Carrara marble.
EAHN International Conference, 19. – 23. June 2024, Athens
At this year's EAHN International Conference in Athens, both Anna-Maria Meister and our collaborator Sina Brückner-Amin of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology / saai Archive are part of the roundtable "Data Narratives of Architectural Modernity", and the Lise Meitner Group's postdoctoral fellow Rebecca Carrai chaired the "Media and Object of the Home" session of the "Building Word Image" Interest Group.
http://eahn2024.arch.ntua.gr/