MAS Context, 23 / ORDINARY. Fall 14

Mas Context presents ORDINARY, the twenty-third issue of this great quarterly publication. This issue seeks to explore the value of commonness and the everyday environment. It focuses on those elements that go unnoticed or that we take for granted, from buildings and objects to experiences and traditions. We look at the ordinary elements of life that are worth rediscovering and celebrating, as well as look ahead to what will become ordinary in the future.

REVISITING THE ORDINARY by Iker Gil. Mas Context, issue 23. Image courtesy Mas Context.

So to present this issue, and because a few days ago I visited Chicago and Iker, I think it is best leave you with text and images of the first article.

“It’s truly a common man marvels at uncommon things and a wise man marvels at the commonplace.”

Confucio

During a recent trip to my hometown, I realized that I had become, for a lack of a better word, a local tourist. Nothing that I did during my trip was new: I went to places that I had seen many times before, ate food that I grew up with, and attended celebrations that were a routine for years. However, having lived away from the city for many years made all those ordinary moments special. Every little detail became important and I paid close attention to things that I had taken for granted for many years.

The trip pointed out something important: the need to look and enjoy all the ordinary places and moments in the city that we call home. We go through our lives without noticing them until, one day, we realize that they are no longer there: the local bar by your house, the traditional business impossible to replace, the unassuming building, or the dinners with friends that you expect to happen forever.

Now, I am looking forward to rediscovering the ordinary elements of Chicago that I take for granted.

Issue statement by Iker Gil, editor in chief of MAS Context

Download the PDF / Purchase a Copy

Contributions by Jennifer Bonner, Alberto Campo Baeza, Deborah Fausch, Michael Hirschbichler, Linda Just, David Karle, Tom Keeley, Steven Montgomery, Norman Kelley, Michal Ojrzanowski, Ordinary Architecture, Antonio Petrov, Regina Pozo, Rojkind Arquitectos, Henry Shukman, Joshua G. Stein, and Zenovia Toloudi. Cover lettering by Nick Adam and cover photography by Ross Floyd.

Read less

Interior pages. Mas Context, issue 23. Image courtesy of Mas Context.

View more images

Metalocus recommends

Almazara Acesur by Mollinedo Arquitectura. Photograph by Jesús Granada

An integrated and humanized landscape. Almazara Acesur by Mollinedo Arquitectura

Gimnasio de escalada Spluga por Enrico Scaramellini. Fotografía por Marcello Mariana

Prepare to climb. Spluga climbing gym by Enrico Scaramellini

KOI Building by Ortiz Leon Arquitectos. Photograph by David Frutos

A wavy glass skin. KOI Building by Ortiz Leon Arquitectos

More information

IKER GIL

Iker Gil is the founder of MAS Studio, the Editor in Chief of the nonprofit MAS Context, and the Executive Director of the SOM Foundation. He has edited or coedited several books including Radical Logic: On the Work of Ensamble Studio and Shanghai Transforming.

He has curated multiple exhibitions including Nocturnal Landscapes, Poured Architecture: Sergio Prego on Miguel Fisac, and BOLD: Alternative Scenarios for Chicago, part of the inaugural Chicago Architecture Biennial. He was cocurator of Exhibit Columbus 2020–2021 and Associate Curator of the US Pavilion for the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. He has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Iker has received several grants and awards for his work, including the 2010 Emerging Visions Award from the Chicago Architectural Club, The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation grants, Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts grants, Ruy de Clavijo grant by Casa Asia, and PICE grant by AC/E (Acción Cultural Española).

Published on: October 30, 2014

Cite: "MAS Context, 23 / ORDINARY. Fall 14" METALOCUS. Accessed

<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/mas-context-23-ordinary-fall-14> ISSN 1139-6415