#11
HOW DID I GET HERE?* NATIONAL IDENTITY IN ARCHITECTURE

Architecture creates living and social environment that reflects political and economic changes, lifestyle and history. It represents people that identify themselves with the region, country or one another. However at the same time it is used vice versa as a tool to construct identity. Post-industrialist society is often making architecture as a commodity or as an economic and political power symbol and rarely it represents country, nation or society. Naturally we ask if national identity in architecture is needed or even if it ever existed, isn’t it just a nostalgic myth, created and constructed story, symbol that one could sell and take advantage off.

Lithuania being part of the EU and in the globalizing world is trying to stand out as unique country and represent itself in architecture. However, in Lithuania, small nation with big and complex history, perception of the national identity is often confused, overlapped and probably have never been truly formulated. In the eleventh architecture [discussion] fund session with the lectures, discussions, excursions and exhibitions we will analyse the multidimensional and controversial theme of the national identity in architecture.

* The title # 106 „How did I get here“ is taken from the art project „Show Title“by Stefan Brüggemann.