ETH research & design studio of spring 2015 (Idyll and Ideology I).
The backside is not only one property of the object, but rather a critical site of our built environment. It is on the backside that both the internal and external spatial organization and composition of the object come together. As a topos, it is both architectural and urban in nature. Every good front needs a strong back side. Out of sight, the back demonstrates its ultimate eccentricity and is thereby the perfect place for urban subversion. The apotheosis of the back is the attempt to understand the city beyond the prevalent regimes of infrastructure and networks. Only through a significant back can an object become part of the city structure. By means of design we are able to read and interpret the city and its elements from the back and discuss a back aesthetic.