Architectural Association School of Architecture AA Visiting School 2018 –19 Semester Programme
The AA Visiting School Semester Programme is a full-time 15-week studio-based course open to undergraduate, graduate, architects, and other creative individuals from around the world who wish to further their knowledge, practice and skills in architecture.
Introduction The AA Visiting School Semester Programme offers students a unique opportunity to study alongside full-time AA students and our famed unit system, for 15 weeks in the heart of London. Celebrated as one of the most architecturally diverse cities in the world, the AA is based in Bloomsbury’s historic Bedford Squareand is home to full-time students enrolling from more than 60 countries each year. Known as the UK’s oldest school of architecture and recognised as an influential world leader in architectural education, the AA graduates are the recipients of numerous prizes including Pritzker Prizes, RIBA Gold Medals & Stirling Awards, AIA and other design awards. The Semester Programme is part of the AA Visiting School, which is home to AA’s part-time studies and offers a worldwide architecture network that encompasses a myriad of forms and agendas. Home to six global extended programmes and 60 workshops in 31 different countries, the AA presents one of the world’s largest public programmes dedicated to contemporary architectural culture, encompassing lectures by visiting architects and artists as well as exhibitions and symposia. This framework offers students the prospect of meeting the world’s leading architects and discovering more about their practice, while gaining an insight into the benefits of showcasing their own work.
Top: AA Badminton at Bedford Square, photo Byron Blakley (BB); bottom: Alberto Alessi at lecture Alessi and the Italian Design Factories, photo BB
Semester Programme The Semester Programme provides an insight into the renowned unit system at the AA, which provides one-to-one student-tutor conversations to guide and develop students’ work. Pin-ups, workshops, lectures and juries complement the year’s varied types of interactions and levels of exposure to unit colleagues. AA tutors and external experts are invited to discuss the projects and provide personal feedback throughout the course. The Semester Programme studio space is located at the AA, which is spread between 32 –39 Bedford Square and 4 and 16 Morwell Street (behind Bedford Square). The programme is integrated with the AA’s undergraduate History and Theory seminars and Media Studies courses, designed to allow transferable study credits. The AA Visiting School awards a Certificate of Completion to all registered and participating students of the programme. A unit trip is organised in relation to the main unit brief, allowing students to experience live-project sites for themselves and engage in dialogues with local professionals. The group trip focuses on architecture, landscapes and workspaces with the potential to inspire and inform the theme of study.
Clockwise from top left: Final jury presentation Spring Semester Programme; view from the roof terrace towards the rear unit spaces at 36 Bedford Square; students testing bridges, photo VB
2018 –19 Programme Briefs Autumn 2018 London – Paris. Olympic Legacy Monday 3 September – Friday 14 December 2018 The Autum Semester 2018 brief sets out to study the Paris 2024 Olympic scheme. Students will analyse, question and identify neighborhoods that have potential to strategically evolve and rethink their urbanity. Invesitgating key sites, students will practically test architectural interventions that engage in the vision of the city’s legacy. During the programme, work-live environments will help students engage and follow the digital and knowledge economy trends, facilitating discussions and ideas in alternatives, in re-shaping neighbourhoods from unproductive and obsolete areas. During group sessions, students will look at the existing conditions of the site and its relation to the city. Here the city will be understood as layers of information that together reveal drawing and mapping qualities, and by analysing both tangible and intangible conditions, each student will develop their own brief to target specific design challenges of re-introducing old infrastructure into changing urban areas. Design proposals will be multi-scalar in scope, enabling architectural propositions to respond to a larger narrative relating to the aesthetic, programmatic and socio-economic capacities of the city and its infrastructure. Through intensive collaborative processes, discussions and debates, students will gain the confidence to develop their own aesthetic style as an outcome of the project, and the ongoing dialogue between two- and three-dimensional representation will reveal unpredictable qualities to inspire their design narratives.
Top: Collage by Dimitris Gyftopoulos and Iñigo Sola Lopez. Opposite: Drawing by Alex Sassine, Spring Semester Programme 2018
Spring 2019 London – Valencia. River & Sea Monday 7 January – Friday 10 May 2019 The Spring Semester 2019 will look at Valencia as a port city, where the Turia River meets the Mediterranean Sea. Despite being famous as a city for its floods, the River Turia became a vital project in re-shaping the developments of the city, transforming an old course into a central green space and becoming a cultural attraction known as the garden of the Turia. The green corridor connects historical districts with the future of city living – such as Cities of Arts and Science – placing itself as the strong back bone of the city. Our study will focus on the sudden disconnection from the linear park to the port, and its benefits and consequences in the navigation and understanding of the city. Through collaboration and group work, students will look at the existing conditions of the garden of Turia, the port and the in-between areas. The city will be understood as layers of information. Combined with drawing qualities students will conceptualise and create their own design narratives of the project. By analysing the cities complex infrastructure – both social and geographical – each student will develop their brief to target and reveal their specific design agendas. Design proposals will be multi-scalar in scope, enabling architectural propositions to respond to a larger narrative relating to the aesthetic, programmatic and socio-economic capacities of the city and its infrastructure. Students are expected to explore their own aesthetic style as an outcome of the process, and engage with the ongoing dialogue between two- and three-dimensional representation, revealing unpredictable qualities that inspire their design narratives. The AA’s proposed Easter closure dates are 4 April to 22 April 2019, giving students an added opportunity to develop their projects further in research and self-directed study.
2017–18 Programme Briefs Autumn 2017 Almeria. Seaport Monday 4 September – Friday 15 December 2017 This autumn, our semester programme sets out to integrate old infrastructures into the city of Almeria. As technology evolves, the ways in how people live and work change. Cities, as a result, need to adapt their urban qualities to today’s living requirements and perform differently. Students will travel to the Spanish port city of Almeria, exploring the logistic and commercial potential of its historical waterfront. Through intensive group work and discussion, students will examine the conditions of the site and its relation to local city living – how the city has become spatially dependent, or has re-interpreted the use of the site. Together with drawing and mapping as a variety of investigative methods, students will be challenged on their individual design narratives, developing their brief to target specific design challenges that re-introduce obsolete infrastructures and repurpose the use of the urban space of Almeria today.
Spring 2018 Rethinking Living Morelia. PinkQuarry Monday 8 January – Friday 18 May 2018 The Spring Semester 2018 studio will travel to the historic centre of Morelia in Mexico, unravelling the cities harmonious pink stone clusters as its buildings. This pink spirit proliferates in a checkerboard-like street layout, culminating to wide openings of space, plazas and its surrounding hilltops. The studio will traverse beyond the towns pink surface and its skyline, practically investigating the pedestrian: the walking distance between adjacencies. We will actively seek to question, perform and challenge how to transition from one area to the next, in order to explore the future character that complements the cultural heart of this Mexican city. Collaborating in working groups, students will record and map the existing conditions of the area, treating the site as an accumulation of information that represents tangible and intangible qualities – i.e. infrastructure and flow, activity and time, verticality and pattern. A variety in working methods and topics will inspire individual strategies for ambitious proposals that address the future of Morelia. The AA’s proposed Easter closure dates are 28 March to 15 April 2018, giving students an added opportunity to develop their projects further in research and self-directed study. View of Morelia from Beniro Juárez Street towards the Cathedral
Complementary Studies Two complementary courses are part of the Complementary Studies programme. Students from the Semester Programme are grouped with current AA third year students – an important experience – as it directly exposes students to life at the AA, current work and debates, and experimentation from units across the school. History & Theory Studies Students are automatically enrolled in the undergraduate History & Theory Studies programme, which is designed to introduce them to the nature of architecture, not solely through the issue of design but also through the larger context of the discipline’s relation to past, present, future and diverse cultures. Writing is a central skill for the developing architect – at a professional level, architects are increasingly expected to describe and analyse designs and buildings in written form. Students are expected to independently research a topic of interest, form a definitive argument, and articulate their findings and arguments clearly. A full account of the available courses can be found in the Complementary Studies Course Booklet. Media Studies Students can enrol for one Media Studies course from the wide selection on offer. Media Studies exposes students to the work of architects, artists and other practitioners. It introduces them to the balance of innovative skills associated with traditional forms of architectural media and representation, to today’s most experimental forms of information, communication and fabrication technologies. Media Studies emphasises the integration of established techniques in design with the potential of progressive, experimental modes in media and production methods. www.aa-mediastudies.net Semester Programme Structure Optional STUDIO WORK
+
+
MEDIA COURSE
SOFTWARE CLASSES
15 weeks
10 weeks
10 weeks
1 day
Contact Time
Contact Time
Contact Time
Contact Time
Independent Study
Independent Study
Independent Study
TOTAL 30h/week
TOTAL 5h/week
TOTAL 5h/week
7 week seminar 3 week independent study
15h/week
3h/week
2h/week
Studio Report Grade Format (A+) to (E) (100%) to (48% & below)
8 week seminar 2 week independent study
3h/week
15h/week
AA Media Studies, Photography Workshop with Sue Barr, photo Sue Barr
HISTORY & THEORY COURSE
2h/week
Course Report
+
Grade Format Pass/Fail
6h
Course Report
+
Grade Format Pass/Fail
Architectural Association CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION
AA Facilities Students are encouraged to use the AA’s facilities to gain as many skills as possible during their experience of studying abroad. Digital Prototyping Lab Set up in August 2007 and now relocated to the basement of 39 Bedford Square, the Lab contains various prototyping machines and a teaching space designed to evolve with the latest developments in digital fabrication technologies. The Lab intends to raise awareness of the potential of digital fabrication as a technique for producing final proposals and its use as a design tool. Wood & Metal Workshop The Wood and Metal Workshop is well equipped with standing machines, hand and power tools for working in wood, metal and some plastics. Facilities are available for welding, cutting and shaping steel and other nonferrous metals. Machinery is available for precise working in hardwoods, softwoods and other panel products. Model Workshop The Model Workshop provides an indoor working space for a wide variety of exploration, including mould-making and casting, kiln work in ceramics and glass and vacuum-forming. Projects are realised using a wide variety of materials and techniques and range in scale from traditional model-making work to 1:1 concrete castings. Digital Photo Studio The photo studio is fully equipped with lighting, backdrops, cameras and tripods for students to use. Term time opening hours are Monday –Wednesday 10am – 9.30pm and Thursday –Saturday 10am – 6pm.
New Digital Prototyping Lab, 39 Basement, photo BB
Audiovisual Department The school has a long history of utilizing video within both unit programmes and Media Studies. Students are able to borrow a variety of high-end AV and media equipment. A Chromakey studio is located at 39 Bedford Square and houses Apple workstations, running Final Cut Studio and Adobe CC alongside various audio, video and encoding tools. Computer Department The AA equips students to use current design systems and software packages to their fullest extent. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Flash, AutoCAD, Microstation, 3D Studio Max and Maya are introduced through one-day workshops during the term. Software introductions consist of sixhour teaching sessions held in First Floor Front, 39 Bedford Square and we have another 50 machines in the computer labs in number 16 Morwell Street. In addition, the AA has A4 to A0 printers and scanners, and specialist knowledge and help can be gained at our Print Centre. Library Founded in 1862, the AA Library holds more than 46,000 volumes on the history of architecture, architectural theory, contemporary architectural and interior design and landscape design. In addition to the most up-todate publications, it houses rare and early works, plus special collections of material on the Modern Movement, international exhibitions and the history of architectural education at the AA. The library’s online resources and databases are extensive, with constantly growing collections of e-journals and e-books.
Clockwise from top left: AA Library; aluminium sand casting in Ching’s Yard with Shany Barath and Gary Freedman; View across Ching’s Yard, AA Workshop photo BB.
Experience
Clockwise from top left: Render by Yuxuan Lei Spring Semester 2018; drawing by Nicole Somi Lee-Park Spring Semester 2018 and model by Kaan Vanapruks Autumn Semester 2017.
Clockwise from top left: Model by Christina Battikha Spring Semester 2018; drawing by Napapat Lasavanich Autumn Semester 2017; render by Napapat Lasavanich Autumn Semester 2017.
Clockwise from above: Drawing by Yuxuan Lei Spring Semester 2018; model by Mo Chen Spring Semester 2018; drawing by Christina Battikha Spring Semester 2018.
Entrance Requirements
Applications
The AA Semester Programme is open to undergraduate, graduate, architects, and other creative individuals from around the world who wish to further their knowledge, practice and skills in architecture. A minimum of two years of study in architecture or urban design is required. All candidates are required to show proficiency in the English language. To meet both the AA and the Home Office/UKVI English language requirements you will need to have one of the acceptable language qualifications listed below, unless you are from one of the following groups:
If you meet the requirements you can apply to the programme by submitting the following:
–– You are a national of a majority English-speaking country (all countries listed below excluding Ireland). –– You have successfully completed an academic qualification equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree or above, which was taught in a ‘majority English-speaking’ country (listed below) excluding Canada. In order to assess the equivalency of an overseas qualification the student should provide official documentation produced by UK NARIC which confirms the translation. Please go to the English language assessment section for individuals of the UK NARIC website, apply online and send us your NARIC certificate. –– Majority English-speaking countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States of America We also accept if you have successfully completed a course of study in the UK as a Tier 4 (Child) student or as a student under rules in force before 31 March 2009, where you were under 18 when granted leave, provided your course was at least six months long and it was completed no more than two years before your CAS was assigned. If your place is conditional on providing an English language qualification, the following qualifications satisfy both the requirements of the Home Office/UKVI and the entry requirements of the AA: –– IInternational applicants: IELTS for UKVI (Academic) 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each category. IELTS reports have a two year validity period. Therefore, the certificate must bear a date no longer than two years ago at the time of visa application. The AA requires a scan of the original certificate. Please check Appendix O and the Approved secure English language tests and test centres issued by the UKVI to ensure you book a test with an approved SELT provider. –– EU Applicants: IELTS (Academic) 6.5 overall with at least 6.0 in each category. IELTS reports have a two year validity period. Therefore, the certificate must bear a date no longer than two years ago at the time of application to the AA. The AA requires a scan of the original certificate. –– Trinity College SELT test (ISE II (B2) or ISE III (C1)) with a minimum pass in each category. Trinity reports have a two year validity period. Therefore, the certificate must bear a date no longer than two years ago at the time of visa application. The AA requires a copy of the original certificate. Applicants are required to meet the scores in each category and overall – we cannot accept lower scores. In addition, your certificate must show that you have achieved the required scores during a single sitting of the examination.
–– Completed PDF application form –– A4 Portfolio consisting of 20 sheets that demonstrate your range of skills –– University transcripts in English –– Original letter of reference on letter-headed paper –– Certificate showing proficiency in English language. Refer to English language requirements listed under entrance requirements. If you do not have the certificate and are planning to take an English language test, you can still make an application with the above documents and submit your results when you receive them –– Copy of your passport All documents should be submitted as a digital copy with a completed application form to visitingschool@aaschool.ac.uk via email or other file transfer methods such as WeTransfer; however original documents or certified true copies of certificates are required prior to enrolment. Applicants will be notified of results by email no later than two weeks following the admissions deadline. If applications are received before the deadline, applicants will be notified of their results sooner. Applications received after the official deadline will be accepted at the discretion of the school, space permitting.
Programme Semester Programme Head AA Visiting Naiara Vegara School
Naiara Vegara has an AA Diploma and is a registered architect RIBA Part III. Visiting Director She is a PhDSchool candidate under the research Christopher Pierce topic of Streetware. Naiara is currently director of Metrópoli Cities Lab London, working on projects around the world at Visiting School Coordinator the scales of urban design, landscape and Andrea Ghaddar architecture; and director of the AA Visiting School Semester Programme. Naiara also teaches on the AA Masters in Housing and Urbanism programme and has been running the AA Streetware Visiting School in Southeast Asia for five years. She has been a visiting critic at many architecture schools, presenting her research on virtual environments and the design process in architectur in workshops at the universities of Columbia, Princeton, Pennsylvania and Taylors in Kuala Lumpur.
Please do not pay course fees until you have received an offer. The application deadline for the Autumn Semester Programme is 1 August 2018. You can choose to pay the deposit fee of £3,920 first, followed by the remaining fee of £6000. The deposit fee has to be paid by 9 July 2018 and the remaining fee has to be paid by 8 August 2018. A full payment of £9,920 needs to be paid by 8 August 2018. The application deadline for the Spring Semester Programme is 28 November 2018. You can choose to pay the deposit fee of £3,920 first, followed by the remaining fee of £6000. The deposit fee has to be paid by 5 November 2018 and the remaining fee has to be paid by 5 December 2018. A full payment of £9,920 needs to be paid by 5 December 2018. Fees The tuition fee for both the Autumn Semester and Spring Semester programme is £9,920, which includes AA Visiting Membership. The deposit is £3,920 made payable after acceptance onto the programme. Further details can also be found on the Semester Programme websites: Autumn Semester www.aaschool.ac.uk/autumnsemesterprog Spring Semester: www.aaschool.ac.uk/springsemesterprog
Course Tutor Katya Larina
Katya Larina is a senior architect and urban designer at Gustafson Porter, London. She received her Master’s in Landscape Urbanism from the AA and has been co-directing a series of independent workshops. She has also been invited as an expert and guest lecturer at Institute Strelka Moscow, the Bartlett School of Architecture and the AA in London. Katya is co-founder of the research and education project U:Lab.spb, which develops tools that are used in the fields of design and analytics of critical urban environments of Russian cities. U:Lab.spb focuses on social economic strategies that combine knowledge from the fields of sociology, economics, urban planning and ecology to foster the redevelopment of Russian industrial cities and knowledge centres.
Course Master Marie-Isabel de Monseignat-Lavrov Marie-Isabel de Monseignat-Lavrov
has an AA Diploma and is a registered architect ARB/RIBA part III. She is currently director of MdeM architects, co-director of Studio Goldy and course master of the AA Visiting School Semester Programme. Previously she taught the AA summer school in 2008 and 2009, as well as the Bachelor degree at UAL Chelsea College of Art and Design. Marie-Isabel is a regular visiting critic at different architectural schools including Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts, UAL Central Saint Martin, the University of Westminster London and the AA. She has worked in the fields of urban master-planning, architecture and interior design in various offices. In London for Acme Ltd, she led a team of 4 architects on the retail extension of Westquay in Southampton UK which was awarded the Prix Versailles in 2018.
Course Tutor Dimitris Gyftopoulos
Dimitris Gyftopoulos holds a Master degree in Architecture of Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture (UCL) and is a registered architect ARB/RIBA Part III. He is the director of Mitsimotto, overseeing projects of various natures and scales around the world. Currently, Dimitris is acting as the operations manager of Riverton, representing a Gulf business family with diversified interests ranging from global industrial portfolio to real estate investments in London and Continental Europe. Since January 2018, he joined AA Visiting School Semester Programme as a course tutor. Dimitris has participated in the ‘Marble Pavilion’ installation for the 2009 Interior Design Show in Athens, where the pavilion was featured in the November 2009 issue of Wallpaper* Magazine.
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