Dominik Müller (1986) is an architect and researcher at ETH Zurich. Within the SNSF project Building Identity: Character in Architectural Debate and Design, 1750-1850, he interrogates the reception of medieval architecture as a prism of imaginaries between national belonging and Orientalist otherness. He holds a diploma from the University of Arts Berlin and has worked for multiple architecture firms in Berlin and Zurich. In Palermo, he will research the distinctive character of Arabic-Norman architecture in travel accounts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Santissima Trinità di Delia, near Castelvetrano
What is the main project you will be working on during your residency?
The research in Palermo is part of my dissertation on the late medieval architecture of Norman Sicily and its afterlife in travel accounts and theoretical texts of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with a focus on the cultural construction of identity and alterity.
What do you expect from the residency?
Probably too much. Since my research is about historical projections on Sicily, I am curious how Sicily talks back. As a place that is recently being touristified, I’m curious how today’s projections reflect the historical ones.
How do you think the dialogue between art and science can influence your work?
I don’t think art and science are completely separated fields. I can find truth in art and fiction in science. Of course, there are different methods of research. And research in the arts can take up many forms. Sometimes research is more embedded into practice, sometimes invisible, sometimes like a parasite. I like that. I want to be the host for my research.
What influences your work?
Mainly those authors who comb history or theory against the grain, decenter Europe, question established terminologies, deconstruct gender, have an antiracist drive or give space to underrepresented voices.
Who do you admire most in history?
Its complexity. The tensions between narrative and evidence, perception and projection, macro- and microcosm. The past definitely connects with the present and yet seems like a totally different world. The further back in time, the more different? Well, that’s not so clear. I believe in spirals, not in lines.
San Cataldo, Palermo
What music are you currently listening to?
I listen to all kinds of music, genres, tempos, depending on the mood and situation. But mostly I listen to atmospheric ambient. And lately, I’m really into Moin. A band which doesn’t want to be a band.
Do you have any rituals/routine during work?
I like to have a break on the roof terrace of Palazzo Butera. You can see the sun, the mountains and the sea. What else do you need?
What legacy do you hope your research will leave behind?
I hope my research will speak to diverse audiences, start conversations and leave behind an interesting set of questions. Questions are more open and humbler than answers.
San Giovanni dei Lebbrosi, Palermo
What fascinates you about the city of Palermo?
I’m very excited about Sicily and Palermo is a magnificent city. So many empires have conquered the island. You can taste it in the food, hear it in the language, and see it in the architecture. Sometimes you discover a fragment. Spolia, like a reused arch, different types of stones. The material presence of deep history in a city that does not seem to care.
The future for you is… ?
…contingent on the present and the past.