SCAPES:LAB platform, with its vast experience gathered throughout the previous years, sets its focus on Berlin. We are launching our first Berlin.SCAPES:LAB as a year-long urban pedagogy programme aimed at critical reading of rich variety of the city´s urban narratives. During the temporarily framed agenda (May 2015 - March 2016), we will synchronize different inputs into a purposeful argumentation.
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Who Why Where When What For ? 9
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SCAPES:LAB ID _? The core idea of the SCAPES:LAB initiative is to both define&produce an independent platform for knowledge transfer that addresses the pressing, way-finding urge of reshuffling architecture&urbanism education modes. SCAPES:LAB explores alternatives to hierarchical models and produces knowledge through innovative – critical and progressive – readings of cities & policies, direct collaboration with professionals, colleagues and institutions, variety of collectives (large and small), activists and other relevant initiatives - aimed at establishing a transnational, networked structure that focuses on actualities without hesitation. Research activities are concerned with the impact of politics, economy and society on architectural/urban reality and vice versa. WHO_? SCAPES:LAB is co-initiated by IDnet & Center of Architecture from Novi Sad, Serbia with the support and participation of students & young professionals with background in architecture and urban planning, coming from Novi Sad, Niš and Belgrade / Serbia, Podgorica / Montenegro, Skopje / Macedonia and Sarajevo, Banja Luka / Bosnia and Herzegovina*. Activities are organized with(in) the autonomously built network of collaborators across Europe.
* Countries with similar background; from the Balkans region (ex Yugoslavia); non-EU countries (pol) in Europe (geo). EU Integration (at the moment in the final stages) process coincides with the transition of their economic, political and educational paradigms.
WHY_? Deconstructed societies – trapped in between the challenges of transitional tendencies toward EU integration and the intra-construction of representative democracy modes – are marked by dramatic changes which substantially involve educational output. Institutions aimed at public schooling are transformed formally, not factually. Relevant phenomenology is being interpreted out of its true context – uncritically – and the content remains highly mystified. Confusion arises. HOW_? We believe that the continuity of discontinuity and the permanent state of (re)construction in the Balkans (and Europe) can bring about a production of relevant forms and formats for research. Methodologically, SCAPES:LAB advocates open, collective educational structures – DIY_Education modes – where self-organized research groups facilitate the production, exchange and distribution of all findings. By encouraging a critical mindset among its participants, SCAPES:LAB expands the field of studies on the behalf of post-socialist cities in Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia & Herzegovina. Actions are conducted through temporary autonomous labs aspiring to define, create and engage permanent structures. PAST_? SCAPES:LAB is established to synchronize capacities built through five years of intense production in SCAPES separate programs/territories; FRearCH / 2013 in France and Confederatio Helvetica / Switzerland, EScapes / 2012 in Spain, FLATscapes 01, 02 and 03 / 2009-2011 in The Netherlands. + From 2009-2014, more than 900 young professionals had chance to collaborate and produce through different programs.
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April 2015 / Belgrade Scapes Lab / I Think BG / Stay Fine Tuned!
July 2014 / FLAT Scapes Lab / 4.0 / Feat.
NDSM, TU Delft, Salomon Frausto, Nanne de Ru / Berlage, Yasemin Sengil / Unknown Rotterdam, Katusha Sol / Placemakers, Alexandra Tišma, Albert Takeshi Richters / Post Office, Mitesh Dixit / Domain office, OMA, MVRDV, KAAN Architecten, Powerhouse Company, Blok47, Eva de Klark, Piet Vollard, Sascha Glassl, Roel van Herpt & Guilio Margheri, Florian Weigl, Michiel van Lersel, Milena Stopić, Edwin Gardner & Christian Fruneaux, Francesca Miazzo, (…)
April 2014 / Belgrade Scapes Lab / BiG Projects /
Feat Alessandra Cianchetta / AWP.fr, Haris Piplas / Urban-Think Tank Brillembourg&Klumpner Chair D-ARCH ETH Zurich, Vesna Jovanović / ETH Studio Basel Institut Stadt der Gegenwart, Marija Maruna / Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Ana Nikezić / Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Nicolas Ziesel / koz.fr, Ministarstvo prostora, Center of Architecture, Novi Sad, (…)
November 2013 / Skopje Scapes Lab / On Urban Relevance / Feat.
Oliver Ilievski / Architecture Week Skopje, Haris Piplas / Urban-Think Tank Brillembourg&Klumpner, Chair D-ARCH ETH Zurich, Marko Macura / Center of Architecture, (…)
July 2013 / FRearCH SCAPES / France + Conf. Helvetica Scapes / Feat.
ETH Studio Basel, BBARC, Herzog De Meuron, HHF, VITRA Company, ETH-Z, Urban-Think Tank, Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, NSL-Network City and Landscape, D-ARCH, gta - Institute of History and Theory of Architecture, Pavillon De L’Arsenal, AWP - Office for territorial reconfiguration, Cultural Center of Serbia, ESA - Ecole Spéciale d'Architecture, KOZ Arch., Peripherique Arch., David Tajchman Arch., Phillippe Rizzotti Arch., digitalflesh.org, Malka Arch., Encore Heureux, BASEland.fr, Freaks-Free-Architecture, 6B//Fabrique à rêves, Kunsthaus Graz, TU GRAZ, Institute of Media and Architecture, (…)
July 2012 / ESCAPES / Spainscapes / Feat.
ETSAB - Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona, COAC - Collegi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya, ARATA ISOZAKI OFFICE, OAB Barcelona, MYAA - Mangera Yvars, MiAS Arquitectos, IaaC - Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia ETSAM - Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Madrid, SUMA arquitectura, UNTERCIO, PKMN, Estudio SIC, El Campo de Cebada, Todo por la Praxis, ZULOARK, Leon XI, Taller de Casqueria, BASURAMA, Paisaje Transversal. IA+B, BILBAO RIA 2000, COAVN - Architecture society of Bilbao
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We are delighted to receive people so interested, energy that has brought us new airs.
Toshiaki Tange Arata Isozaki Espana Barcelona / Tokyo
I really enjoyed the experience with Escapes and the capacity to link cultures through it. Escapes Platform is a very useful way to connect people through architecture. Great success!
Josep Mias MiAS arquitectos Barcelona
EScapes platform gives the opportunity to a good number of students of the Ex-Yugoslavia to get in touch with other European realities, by meeting academics and professionals and discussing general and specific items with them, mainly in the field of architecture. The primary outcome is the network between the participants.
Karin Hofert ETSAB Barcelona
Escapes is an ambitious and well run event with good students and great tutors. We enjoyed very much being part of the Barcelona conference and talking to students at our Office.
Ali Mangera Mangera Yvars Architects Barcelona / London
A very enthusiastic and positive initiative, with a great objective: the exchange of knowledge and experience across borders and cultures. I encourage everybody to offer their support and participate.
Juan Alayo Azcarate BilbaoRia2000 Bilbao
Our collaboration with EScapes platform gave us a week of intense personal interchange, discussion and great human experiences! People behind EScapes is a highly motivated group of young professionals with high amount of energy and capable to motivate, organize and involve a large group of students in a very active and participatory mood. For us it was a very enriching experience that gave us the opportunity to achieve a small workshop held on our studio and to co-organize a large outdoors event EXCHANGE! workshop involving many young active groups and actors from Madrid
PKMN office www.pkmn.es Madrid
Travelling and direct contact with buildings, we think, is essential in architectural training as well as in architectural practice. Also student’s contact with the experiences of local young small offices can help them visualize a possible choice in the first steps of their professional life.
Mauro Bravo, Marina del Marmol, Miguel Herraiz y Daniel Bergman UNTERCIO office Madrid
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On 18th of August we received 180 students and young professionals from FRearCH as guests for one day here at the Vitra Campus. We had the chance to show our premises, exchange ideas and discuss in small groups. What a possibility for both sides. What a chance this travelling study program. We would have loved to have more time together to organize a conference or talk together with the whole group. We are all curious about the next steps of the FRearCH program, and envious for a next visit. All the best!
Christina Scholten Head of Visitor Services Vitra Design Museum Weil am Rhein
The exchange of ideas and experiences with the FRearCH platform has been an exciting and developing story. The critical (DIY) approach of the teaching methodologies and the link with the professional practices is helping the students to better understand the difficulties and challenges of an architect. I am looking forward to the next encounters.
Damjan Kokalevski PhD researcher and Teaching Assistant ETH Zurich
The selection of the Architects they’ve selected to visit are very interesting and relevant for students; Personally, I was very enthousiastic to collaborate with such a determinate team of organizers, willing to bring a unique experience to the students. And that’s what we all had.
Stephane Malka CEO MALKA ARCHITECTURE Paris
Was nice to have you here! Update us on your future activities.
Tilo Herlach Partner HHF architects Basel
Thanks to the FRearCH study platform we had the chance to meet a new audience and generate very stimulating debate and ideas. The panel of invited architects was as eclectic as intelligent. Our workshop has been very productive since we didn't have so many time to manage it.
Philippe Rizzotti PRA / PHILIPPE RIZZOTTI ARCHITECTES Paris
There is strength in numbers - FRearCH's success as a platform for young students and professional’ lies in their ability to manage and travel with extremely large groups on their trips, all the while providing an immense program that falls together in a short period of time. There is a potential therein for linking together a European generation of architects through such efforts, an effort that should be undertaken, as Europe continues to politically reflect upon itself.
Vesna Jovanović Teaching and research assistant ETH Studio Basel
It was a real pleasure to collaborate with the Scapes:Lab and the highly dedicated and committed team behind the project. I wish you all success for your future acivities.
Alessandra Cianchetta Architect, Partner AWP (www.awp.fr) Paris
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The Lab was one of the most interesting workshop programs that I've been involved with. The students engaged with the process completely, and all the workshops produced something interesting and thought-provoking for me. I still worry about architecture as a discipline (!) but this made me realise that I want to get more involved with these events
Paul Currion Consultant London / Belgrade
It was a pleasure to be part of this great project. Working with ambitious and intelligent people was stimulating and precious experience for me. I think that BELGRADE.SCAPES:LAB puts the starting point for discussing issues that needs further investigation in urban transformations and that it has tackled the issue of different social, political, cultural and economic relationships in the city of Belgrade. In a brief time, the workshops outlined different methodologies and results that debate the urban development of Belgrade; I am very curious to see how these ideas will develop further.
Iva Čukić Ministry of Space Collective Belgrade
Right on the edge of over-ambition, the BELGRADE.SCAPES:LAB workshop was an event at the right place (the busy window front of the city that it was discussing, that is to say immediately in front of its audience) and at the right time--a time for critical reflection on the current development of the city of Belgrade. The value of this densely packed weekend is the raising of an awareness about what kind of milieu we are practicing in as architects, while brainstorming how our actions can be achieved. There is an acute exigency for more and more work of this nature—hopefully leading to more action.
Vesna Jovanović Teaching and research assistant ETH Studio Basel
I believe that Belgrade.Scapes:LAB - through the broader understanding of its motto: On Urban Relevance - is highly dedicated to both better understanding and deeper affirmation of the incredible pluralism of ideas and concepts but symptoms, limitations and possibilities that exist nowadays.
Goran Govedarica The Architects Novi Sad
With its intensified energy, SCAPES:LAB brings new hope for emerging professionals in the time when architecture/urban profession in Serbia (and region) is highly challenged under its transition processes.
Marija Maruna Assistant Professor Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade
They're fun, they're curious, they're focused, they're crazy, they make great teams, they're never tired, they're critic, they want do things, they're inventive, they never get up early, they want to be involved, they're open minded, they improvise, they all did so much, raised so many issues, showed so many potentials, in so little time... I'm so marveled i could start again right now!
Nicolas Ziesel Architect / Co-Founder KOZ Architectes Paris
I've been impressed by so many students willing to e-Scape the dominant architectural practices; willing to be engaged in rethinking, understanding and finding what would be the 'human measure' for them as a future architects, no matter how difficult it might seem.
Snežana Timotijević Programme Assistant at Cultural Center of Belgrade
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Scapes:Lab to me is about self-empowering, youth-full and energetic group with an eye for architecture. The people I've met were presented a different world on many layers: attitude towards a diy-mentality, social structures, opportunities in general etc. Going global, meeting local and bringing that back home.
Patrick van Haaster De Slang Amsterdam
It was fun, and the workshop produced a certain energy that was important to us working in the area. Besides that, the idea of open air presentations underneath the railway arches, was picked up. We will organize some lectures there ourselves next summer. (all invited ;)
Piet Vollaard The Natural City Rotterdam
Great vibe, good people, interesting topics!
Roel van Herpt Strelka Institute Moscow / Amsterdam
Was a very nice experience to have the young students around the office so they could have a wide overview of how an international architecture office operates. Keep up with the hard work and we hope to see you soon again.
KAAN Architecten Rotterdam
Scapes:Lab aims to approach design methods from an integral perspective with enthusiasm - an enthusiastic group of design focused architects/urban designers eager to learn!
Remon Pot Fugro Amsterdam
It was a pleasure to have such an enthusiastic and informed audience at Museumsquartier Wien. The participants' diverse professional backgrounds let to an inspiring discussion about art institutions and architecture. SCAPES:LAB is a brilliant program to research current issues beyond the traditional field of architecture and urban planning.
Vanessa M端ller Head of Dramaturgy Kunsthalle Wien
ScapesLab provided students with new perspectives by bringing them to a new country. Next to introducing them to the Netherlands and its different political, social and economic structures the initiative opened many eyes for new uses and practices within their working field. They responded very openly and were very enthusiastic to all the new incentives; it was really great to work with such a motivated group of people.
Katusha Sol Urban Sociologist Placemakers . nl Amsterdam
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BERLIN.SCAPES:LAB / DISCURSIVE TURNS 2015. 8