The Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC) is pleased to introduce an exciting international study program in collaboration with the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) and the Akademie der bildenden Künste Stuttgart (abk). The summerschool invites international students for a 2-week workshop at IAAC Barcelona to investigate creative and cross-cultural design for urban futures through the viewpoint of different disciplines. Join IAAC from 4th to 15th September 2023. Application are now open until July 1st.
The summerschool intends to provide students with competencies in intercultural collaborative work practices as well as transdisciplinary and design-based methods to develop unique narratives around pioneering urban future solutions and actions. Hosted by IAAC, the students of the summerschool will have access to the infrastructures, which includes an open design space, an advanced digital fabrication laboratory equipped with state-of-the art machinery (3D printers, robots, and CNCs), a material laboratory, and an AR/VR laboratory.
Content and topic
No doubt: we inhabit multicultural cities around the entire globe. As the urban population grows, cultural diversity in cities grows in parallel, presenting huge challenges and opportunities for the design of the future urban milieu. Unlocking the potential of diversity calls for creating new urban forms, functions, and services that can enhance innovation and productivity, while satisfying common needs and defining novel ways of collective living. With our notion of “Designing for Cross-cultural Urban Societies”, we touch on the question of how a future sustainable, human and environmentally friendly urbanity shall be designed where a global society thrives while enjoying participating and living.
Within this context, the summerschool lands on the specific relation between Asian and Western culture and gathers students from Asia and Europe to inspire each other and exchange ideas about the future of urban life. We are looking for different creative disciplines such as Design, Architecture, Urbanism and Communication that are part of the process of shaping our environment.
During the Summer School the participants will analyze issues of diversity, culture, species, and related policies while they develop urban interventions, illustrating future scenarios for a global cultural life as a future narrative. The outcome focuses on pioneering radical proposals that range from the object to the building, neighborhood, and city scale. The design processes, tools, and methods emerge from the creative use of technologies. This includes architecture, urban-planning, interaction design, product and communication design with the goal of responding to current environmental and social challenges, forming a dialogue between different cultures and actors.
The workshop intends to provide students with competencies in intercultural collaborative work practices as well as transdisciplinary and design-based methods to develop unique narratives around pioneering urban future solutions and actions.
Participants
We welcome international students seeking an intercultural exchange, as we collaboratively create environments through applied or theoretical methods. We invite applicants from diverse creative backgrounds, including Architecture, Urbanism, Design, Interaction Design, Communication, Technology, and Cultural Studies. Our goal is to form a balanced student group with equal representation from Asia and Europe. Following the submission process, we carefully select participants who demonstrate curiosity, open-mindedness, and a strong commitment to contribute their knowledge and culture to enrich the intercultural process of the Summer School.
Lectures and Work on Projects
The Summer School offers a dynamic blend of theory, analysis, best practices, independent research, and mentored individual project work within small interdisciplinary and international groups. Excursions in Barcelona are also incorporated into the program. Prior to the Summer School, participants are encouraged to engage in recommended readings and basic studies. This program marks a new frontier in the field, focusing on the design of a cross-cultural urban milieu. Both digital tools and hands-on skills will be utilized for rapid prototyping and creating tangible artifacts.
Opportunities
The Summer School signifies the commencement of a new MA-level study program that intertwines Architecture, Design, Communication, Urbanism, and Technology. This program is set to continue in the coming years. For talented participants there will be the chance to be part of the faculty.
Faculty: International experts from Architecture, Urbanism and Design from IAAC, abk and ZHdK and external experts. Supported by assistants. Credits: 5 ECTS Tuition fee: 800 Euros Language: English Applications: The call for applications is now open until July 1st. Please contact us for further information: [email protected] Admission: Candidates should send us a letter of motivation and a CV. Upon that, we select the participants. Duration: From 4th to 15th September 2023. Accommodation: Booked on your own. IAAC can support by sharing an accommodation guide and suggestions for the city of Barcelona.