Workshop within the framework of the "Ethics and Architecture" project at the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz - Max-Planck-Institut, organized by Hana Gründler and Brigitte Sölch

From hypertrophic construction projects such as the Tower of Babel or building speculations and megalomaniacal utopias of the Baroque to hyper-architectures and hyper-realities of the present - that wide is the range of undertakings that raise the issue of the value of "overvalue" and the criteria by which it is measured. Within this context, the concept of value can be understood as an economic category as well as an ethical one whose relationship to aesthetics is the focus of this workshop.

"Hyper" stands for intensification, for the fathoming of the feasible, and thus for a perception and constitution of a "reality" above and beyond the present. The aesthetics of production and reception are therefore addressed, as is the matter of scale. While miniature and game worlds can lend their vis-à-vis new magnitude, hypertrophic architectures or, say, labyrinthine constructs embody the no-longer-manageable. The utopian dimension comes into play here as well, referring, as it does, to the possibility of transcending the limitations of human existence. At the same time, the implicit relationship to totalitarianism also comes to light.

These correlations permit us to analyse the following questions, among others: How can "hyper" be defined, described and differentiated on a formal-aesthetic level? How can its aesthetic and ethical (added) value be determined? What role does "hyper" play in architectonic practice (cathedrals, mega construction sites and mega cities, film and stage architectures, etc.) and in discussions about architecture? What positions are cited to substantiate critique of precisely such architectures, and to what extent might they trigger ethical/moral standpoints to begin with?