Mark Cousins Annual Lecture: Conceptualising ConteXt - Bernard Tschumi

There is no architecture without a concept. Concept, not form, is what distinguishes architecture from mere building. But there is also no architecture without context. A work of architecture is always in situ, or in situation, located on a site and within a setting. The context may be historical, geographical, cultural, political, economic, or visual. Concept and context are inseparable. Frequently, they also conflict. The concept may negate or ignore the circumstances that surround it, while the context may generate, blur, or dampen the precision of an architectural idea. Should one of these two terms take precedence over the other? How does a concept get contextualised? Can contexts be conceptualised?


Bernard Tschumi is an architect based in New York and Paris. First known as a theorist, he exhibited and published The Manhattan Transcripts and wrote Architecture and Disjunction, a series of theoretical essays. Major built works include the Parc de la Villette, the Acropolis Museum, Le Fresnoy Art Center, MuséoParc Alésia, the Paris Zoo, the Binhai Science Museum, and a large educational complex for the University of Paris-Sud opening in 2022. He was the Dean of Columbia University GSAPP in New York from 1988-2003. In 2014 the Centre Pompidou presented a major retrospective of his work.


Please note that this lecture is now fully booked. It has restricted capacity with priority given to current AA students and staff as well as fully registered AA Members to register to attend. For those unable to obtain a ticket, the talk will be relayed to the Barrel Vault on the top floor of the AA, and will be recorded to be published later.



To commemorate the legacy of Mark Cousins’ teaching at the AA, the Mark Cousins Annual Lecture was established in 2022. This annual event is an opportunity to invite speakers whose work bears a kindred approach to Mark’s thinking about space, architecture, theory or culture, giving voice to the next generation and bringing Mark’s teaching to audiences old and new. An ongoing fundraising campaign aims to ensure that this annual event remains a highlight in the AA public programme for the next three decades. To learn more about the late Mark Cousins, one of the AA’s most influential architectural educators and critics, please visit the Mark Cousins Lecture Archive – a unique set of over 250 lecture recordings spanning his career available to watch online at www.aaschool.ac.uk/markcousins