Critical Approaches to Exhibition Design (ACDE) is a course that is part of the Architecture program curriculum at the School of Architecture and Urban Studies of the Torcuato Di Tella University in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This course questions the ideology of the white cube and its construction as a neutral backdrop for the exhibition of art and architecture.
Starting with the question, What tools does an architect have to take a stance on what is presented to the public in an exhibition? and using the triad WORK - SPACE - ARCHITECTURE as a general framework, the course explores how these elements interact to enhance the ideas being communicated. Through theoretical material, historical precedents, and a series of practical exercises, students develop different conceptual and material strategies for exhibition design, aiming to broaden the scope of disciplinary action.
During the course, students study paradigmatic cases in the history of exhibitions that blur the boundaries between curator, institution, artist, architect, space, technique, and the work itself. Additionally, the concept of *montage* is introduced, providing students with a toolkit of technical resources to develop their proposals. Furthermore, the course challenges the conception of a pre-existing cultural space as critical working material, encouraging students to analyze and study this specific space with a critical perspective and subsequently intervene in it with the design of an exhibition proposal.


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