RELANDING KNOXVILLE: Synthesis in Contemporary Architecture

Relanding in Knoxville is a material exhibition based on concepts derived from contemporary Latin American architecture and discussed in the book Del territorio al detalle (From Territory to Detail) by German Valenzuela in Talca, Chile, 2021. In this book, seminars from innovative architects practicing throughout Latin America reveal the potential of contemporary architecture to reconnect or Reland people to each other, to themselves, and to the environment, often through the use of existing / local materials.

Materials for this exhibition are sourced from Salvage Lumber Co. in Knoxville. Through these studies, five materials that had reached the “end” of their life-cycle are not simply recycled or reused but re-imagined and given a new significance. The models of this exhibition push perceptions of material potential and purpose in contemporary architecture. In this way, these models represent the first step in applying the notion of Relanding people in their present moment through material, and the architectural projects of our Latin American precedents become possible within a different socioeconomic environment.

This exhibition was led by Professor German Valenzuela and worked on by three students: myself, Autumn Jones, and Delaney O'Brien. The images below are of the final exhibition, the Salvage Lumber Co., where materials were sourced, and the material studies.