Montage is a methodological process of collecting, arranging, and assembling heterogeneous resources or inserting them into an existing situation in such a way, that something ›new‹ is created. The original properties of the mounted elements in the new composition remain identifiable, while the cuts and transitions between them are blurred. In contrast to the collage, in which the set pieces are clearly separated from each other, montage is characterized by appropriation and superimposition of both material and immaterial resources, including a multi-sensory technique in the perception, design, and communication of architecture. As the term montage signifies different actions of editing, layering, and producing in the context of visual arts, the process of montage is also moving into the focus of attention in the context of architecture.

We aim to conduct a discourse that provides a comprehensive collection of theories, methods, and visions to highlight the relevance of montage for visual and spatial practices as well as for knowledge production in architecture. This call invites contributions that address the »Essentials of Montage in Architecture« from the perspectives of perceiving and reflecting, communicating, designing, and making in or around the discipline of architecture. We invite theorists and practitioners from different disciplines to reflect upon various aspects of »Montage in Architecture« and to present their specific observations gained in research, practice, or teaching. This issue’s overarching objective is to bring together investigations from different disciplines – i.e. foremost Architecture and Urban Design, Photography and Writing, but also Philosophy, Sociology, and other fields – to widen the perspective on montage in the architectural discourse.

In addition to full paper contributions, this call is explicitly open and unrestricted concerning the methods of practice-related investigations and research. Contributors are thus welcomed to assemble observations in the mode of visual contributions (documentations or any other form of notation). In this case, the communicative power is considered to be equal to that of textual language. Nevertheless, visual contributions require a linguistic embedding in order to incorporate the background, genesis, and reflection of these works to the contribution.

In order to show and classify the wide diversity in this edition, the following sections are explored. Contributions are welcomed to either focus on the overarching theme or to address one or more of the following aspects:

Definitions of Montage:
This section aims to deal with reflections on how montage can be characterized as a technique inherent to architecture and a fundamental basis of architectural practice and knowledge. The relations, and particularly the differences between collage and montage, can be pointed out and presented in the context of architecture. What role does montage play between historical documentation and future utopian works?

Montage Techniques:
The origins and importance of montage in film-making and image editing is well known and has been covered extensively. In this section we aim to collect and present rather architecture-specific techniques, to discuss their evolution and importance today as well as future opportunities in producing architecture. What are the archives and atlases of montage methods in architecture? How did the resources of montage develop, especially in the age of digitalization?

Montage as a Communication Tool:
Pictures and visualizations are essential elements in architectural design processes such as in developing and communicating ideas. A design develops through collecting and dealing with ideas, existing buildings, situations, materials, and the balance between presentation and representation. This section focuses on the image-based and referential process of both the creation and communication of ideas through montage methods.

Montages in Mind:
Beside working with material elements (e.g. pictures, videos), another essential feature of montage techniques is the approach to the immaterial and sensual elements of perception and reflection such as thoughts, languages, imaginations or associations. In mental processes we combine different fragments of previous experiences, memories, interpretations, concepts, etc. as inner montages that lead to further actions or ideas. This section aims to highlight the similarities and dependencies of the conditions of our mind and montages in
perception and reflection.

Environmental Montages:
Architectural work is characterized by arranging and fixing physical material. In this process, the architect acts as a moderator or curator who imagines and composes the built environment, subsequently coordinated by the workers or machines on site, where new material and immaterial realities evolve. With this section we want to highlight the architectural process from the material as found to specific building procedures which are based on design decisions in the architectural and urban environment. What are the relations between montage techniques in designing and building?


Schedule
Release of Call: December 01, 2021
Deadline for Submission: February 28, 2022
Peer-Review Period: March 01 - April 15, 2022
Revision Period: May 01 - June 30, 2022
Editorial Feedback: July 01 - July 30, 2022
Publication: November, 2022

Submission:
Please submit your contributions by February 28, 2022 at maildimensions-journal.eu addressing the editors Julian Franke, Sandra Meireis, Max Treiber. Maximum upload capacity is 10 MB, for larger files please provide a download link.

Contact:
For further information, please visit www.dimensions-journal.eu and feel free to contact us via mail: maildimensions-journal.eu

All contributions have to be original works, which have not been published in another context. Dimensions publishes research that has been completed, but also explicitly intends to present research projects that have not yet been completed. Here, the focus is on the presentation of the procedures/methods and intended goals or findings achieved so far.