Idea
Game
Practice
From a playful challenge, to a fascinating game. Step in the building world!
The (not new) idea
There is a difference between talking about a building, and making available your voice for a building to talk itself. I, the building. If someone asks you to imagine a building talking itself you will think differently than if they ask you to just talk about it.
The TalkingBuildings concept is the process during which different actors, architects, authorities, students, artists, and most importantly citizens, give a voice to buildings in different ways, through creative writing, small voice over videos / photos, podcasts, drawing, and any other imaginable way.
TalkingBuildings is not a new idea, but in SINCERE we use this idea in a somehow different way.
What is not new is the impersonation of buildings, it has been done by many artists like Wim Wenders, studied from theorists like Bruno Latour, and inspired architects like Louis Kahn.
What is new is the use of Talking Buildings as a participatory methodology for engaging citizens, and not for producing high-quality artistic content, as it is typically the case.
The way the invitation is formulated, the collection of inputs, the discussion about them, and the impact that these have, are all parts of the process that play a key role on its evolution.
The game
Inviting people to visit cultural heritage buildings, and give them a voice is only the warming up for the Talking Buildings Game. The process of impersonation requires many layers to reveal hidden aspects and missing perspectives.
So, the game just starts with the Talking Buildings Challenge, and depending on the context and the interests of the local initiators of the game could develop in different directions.
For example, the challenge could be framed around a technical topic, like sustainable renovation, energy production, circular construction, preservation, etc., and ask the participants to spot parts of building that are relevant in this context, organizing workshop to help them see "with the eyes of the experts" during the observation phase, and empower them to imagine stories that can provide useful input to experts.
In this page we will be documenting all different variations and provide material to support you in initiating your own version of the game!
Practice
The SINCERE Talking Buildings Game has been initiated with customized graphics and communication or with local implementations in different context. A brand new web site has been designed and this is the right place to stay updated! Visit talkingbuildings.net.
Everything started at "the first ever online dialogue between two cultural heritage buildings" organized by the SINCERE project for the European Heritage Days 2024. You can watch on Youtube the heritage in dialogue, the full recording (or just the teaser).
