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​Modernism in Motion: Exhibiting Architectural Thought through Movement

Background

The course’s instructors designed the course based on the impressive creative expression and creativity in contemporary dance in China. While architecture is a very different field from dance, it is, at least according to many authorities in the field past and present, including Liang Sicheng, ultimately an art. And as such, it makes sense for the arts to inspire one another. As a result, the instructor  thought it made sense to combine education in architectural theory and history with a bright spot on the creative map. Assistant Professor Abraham Zamcheck  and co-teacher, contemporary dancer Jane (Cheng Yaojing ), did this without a fully fleshed out idea about how this would be done. They combined classes with lectures on the history and theory of modernist architecture with exercises in environmental observation, physical movement, and mimicry on an ad-hoc basis.

The course was conceived with the intent to wake students up in two respects. Firstly with regards to their understanding of the rich and contradictory history of modernist architecture and related design--a subject often vastly misunderstood and underappreciated.

Secondly at a time of deep uncertainty about the importance of creative work in design, including a turn away from using our eyes and minds to observe and create, the instructors saw a need to awaken the creative energy of students through joint work in an unfamiliar form, requiring deep observation and collective action. And this was to be realized through  movement exercises.

Course Brief

In the course, we examined contending ideas of modernist architecture, including one pole which believed that the supreme expression of architecture is that relating to light, shading, and shape. In the end, this performance, at least the documentation of it, became aligned with such a trend.

Through the course, we  explored how the architecture and design around us serves or does not serve social needs. In class work, including exercises guided by Jane, together with design charettes to help students develop their intuition about the relationship between the human body and built space. Historical readings, architectural precedents and lectures provided a background to such explorations.

Teaching Objectives

On a basic level we aimed to show that modernism in architecture is not simply a drab 30 story apartment building built to warehouse people

We wanted students to use their eyes and to see the way people interact with the architecture on campus.

And we wanted them to show their learning to a public audience, not through the expected   PowerPoint presentation, but through physical movement.

Teaching

Instructor

Abraham Zamcheck（Abbie）

An assistant professor at the School of Design, whose work and studies have examined the debate in on design thought inspired by the Bauhaus on one hand, and historical approaches and traditions, namely Chines traditional architecture, on the other

Cheng Yaojing

​It was also led by Jane (Cheng Yaojing) a  Hangzhou-based, dancer and art creator, focusing on community dance, site-specific performance and physical theater.

Teaching Assistant

Li Yiming

Class Review

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Final Performances

Modernism in Motion: Exhibiting Architectural Thought through Movement

The course culminated in a final showcase performance on the evening of May 21, 2026, at the School of Design Building. The presentation featured three site-specific performances crafted for the lobby space, namely: Rituals of Repetition: Bodies in Sequence, Framed: Whose Style Are You Living In?, and Parallel Forms in Modernism: Between Structure and Sculpture.

01

Rituals of Repetition

Creators / Peformers

Mariana Florez

Caio Pollastro

Janice Elvina Williem

Lights 

Farshad Jaberzade

Noa Swaziland

02

Framed：Whose Style are you Living？

Two performers move across the stepped space as a timeline of student life. A normal daily routine becomes a choreography of repetition. Act I is ordered and human; Act II repeats faster, turning routine into a mechanical loop.

​Creators / Peformers

Menusha Ariyaratne

Chavia Ozora

Alexandra Sandu

Yang Fangchao

Light

Janice Elvina Williem

A dance performance of life, architecture, and social media. For centuries, architecture has expressed ideology, identity, and aesthetics. Today, these same expressions live within an invisible structure - social media. We inhabit an era where identity is curated for visibility. Each body becomes a post, each choice a signal. Who decides what is stylish? Who gets to define the "ideal style" we try to become? 

This performance dares to search for our own style, or is it merely another mirage within the mainstream?

03

Parallel Forms in Modernism: Between Structure and Sculpture

​Creators / Peformers

Amina Shabanova

Ying Zhi Liew

Mauricio Murakami

Nikol Papazova

Ji Hantian

Light

Caio Pollastro

Exploring structure and sculpture to find a balance between both

Feedback

​Caio Pollastro:

I enjoyed this class because it gave me the opportunity to explore topics and approaches that are not usually part of my architecture courses. The lectures were interesting, and the performance project was a new experience that challenged me to think differently about everyday life, space, and design.

Overall, it was a creative and engaging course, and I appreciated the chance to work in a different way from the more traditional academic projects.

Chavia Ozora:

This class taught me more about intention.

Whether it is about "styles," how people behave in a space, or function and decoration for aesthetic or symbolic purposes, being aware (the act of thinking and observing before doing) makes a difference.

Each person has their own unique qualities, and even when you are inspired by something, the act of pausing, thinking, and reflecting is necessary for designing.

Through the performance in particular (from preparation, mini exercises, until the final), I became more aware of bodily movement in architecture. How people occupy space differently, how it can influence which spaces are emphasized or hidden. Even when the nature of the space is to be hidden, we as designers can make others look and highlight them, and also the other way around.

This became a reminder for me that designing is never about only one thing- form for example, but also about understanding and intentionally providing the most appropriate spaces you can create for those who use it, and also be clear of what you want to express, so that people can understand, or at least can feel your intention.

Ji Hantian（季翰天）:

这是一堂超出我对建筑学课程认知，却又实实在在提升了我建筑学素养的课程。

课堂上，我们不仅在Abbie的带领下学习关于现代主义的建筑史，也在Jane的带领下，从感受自己的身体开始，到感受教室，感受自然，感受我们所身处的建筑。我们的课堂不仅发生在教室，也发生在舞房，在设计学院。而我们从课堂的take away，更是发生在生活的角角落落，每时每刻。

我们课程的结课汇报是和组员们一起创造一个现代舞蹈，起初我们都对此心存怀疑，担心没有接受过舞蹈训练的我们能否胜任。但在老师和同学们的共同努力下，我们最终结合自己对建筑和舞蹈的理解，创作出了独特的作品，也对“用身体感受建筑”有了更深的理解。

最后也特别感谢任课老师Abbie、Jane和助教李一鸣，你们的指导和帮助让我在现代主义建筑：过去和现在这门课程中，我度过了难忘的八周。​