Multi-disciplinarity is on the agenda for the contemporary architectural debate, and Researching Otherwise – edited by ETH-based scholar Nitin Bathla – takes a broad look at the topic.
Divided into three chapters dedicated to transdisciplinary, sensory, and restitutive methods, the book presents pluriversal research projects, which range from artistic and perceptual approaches via post-colonial cartography through to promenadology with the intention of developing a new methodological repertoire for the development of realms of knowledge in landscape and urban research. The potential of two-color printing has been exploited to perfection here, not only as a means of providing visual orientation between the various text elements, but also in order to integrate the heterogeneous – or pluriversal – images harmoniously into the layout which was stringently choreographed by Zurich-based graphic design office Offshore Studio. The result is a surprisingly light, almost light-footed book, which can be classified as a collection of scientific texts in terms of content, but which are united in visually coherent way by the color edging and reduced color scheme to produce a successfully designed publication. (Lisa Schons)