standpunkte: this will — this

Standpunkte is a A Few Zines newcomer. Edited by Reto Geiser andTilo Richter, it sports a fancy advisory board including Luke Bulman, Salomon Frausto, Jürgen Mayer H., Mark Lee, Rahul Mehrotra, and Philip Ursprung.  Jesse LeCavalier presented Issue One to me over coffee a few weeks ago. It contains his collaboration architectural historian John Harwood and graphic designer Guillaume Mojon.

A black cipher, I wasn't sure what to make of a publication full of totemic graphics. Then Jesse pulled out his iPhone, equipped with a 2D bar code reader, and brought the pamphlet to life. A scan of the cover graphics takes you to www.thiswill-this.net. Where the editorial statement reads: "You will not to be able to read this, at least not all of it. This is fine with us."

Layers of encryption are at the root of this first issue of Standpunkete: This Will —This.

Or as the editors write, ""the thresholds and overlaps between material and immaterial media."

Of special interest is the display of information in a nonlinear interplay of different media. By means of a historical and spatial analysis of the ambivalent nature between built space and information space, the authors explore the organizational complex of the built environment, propagating encrypted architecture and urbanism as models to speculate for the future of our surroundings.

Standpunkte was founded in 2005 to promote dialogue and critical exchange among emerging voices in architecture and its related fields both in Switzerland and abroad. This new publication series aims to foster the dissemination and development of architectural ideas, encouraging a productive collaboration between architects, writers, and graphic designers. Each issue is jointly conceived, written, and
designed by a young team that specifically comes together for this venue. By blurring the boundaries of the three disciplines involved in the making of this magazine, design and content are amalgamated into a unique contribution.

The publication proposes an interface between the digital and print realms, making the scanning device the medium, and making null the polarity that's cropped up between paper and virtual publishing.

Standpunkte will be regularly publishing manifestos, ideas, critical investigations, or designs that represent current positions or comment on historical subjects from a contemporary perspective. Please send cards, letters, or e-mails with proposals and comments to Standpunkte, Hammerstrasse 90, 4057 Basel, Switzerland, or to info at standpunkte dot org.