Studio Details

Location
Venice, Italy

Date
1-12th July, 2023
(6/7th weekend free unless notified otherwise)

Fee
2500 Euro

Studio Directors in Venice
Andy Yu (projects director, Sou Fujimoto Architects)

Studio Project
Public space and spaces of consumption

Time Commitment
3.5hrs / day classes (+ field trips, lectures and site visits)
*students should expect to spend additional time to develop their projects

Required Skills
Intermediate digital 3D modelling and rendering

Required Software
Adobe Suite

Resources
Laptop computer

Field Trips and Site Visits
Visits to restaurants, both back of house and front of house. Artist/designer studios. Guided tours of Venice and the Cannaregio and San Polo neighbourhoods in particular.

note: The cost of all studio activities are covered by the Venice Studio program (inc. any transport), therefore there is no additional cost to students.

Studio Project

The meaning of consumption implies an exhaustion until depletion, of which a whole is reduced when something is taken away. Venice has a rich history of consumption and is a city of complex relationships, it’s the poster child of a historical European city hit hard by modern consumption and is constantly responding with cultural, technological, economical, political and environmental initiatives.

In this studio, we will take a more tempered and poetic approach to what consumption may be in Venice – when something is taken, the city grows to replace it; what one leaves behind, the city gladly absorbs. Seeing in this way, consumption becomes a cycle, a cycle which we experience in nature, people and life. It exceeds architecture, and yet this is the basis of architecture. As a starting point, we will accept consumption as exhaustion but gradually move towards an understanding of it as a cycle of codependency where richness and depth arise and new relationships emerge.

We will investigate both the history and the form of the city to find our own representation of Venice. Understanding different forms in which this cycle of codependency appears is essential for making spaces that become part of the system. How can moments of interaction that feed into and result from the design and activation of spaces be understood? How can we “story-find” in order to story-tell? How can we document our observations? How can we use our notational drawing to no longer be esoteric, but to highlight, share, and discuss? How can we explore real everyday events, usages and needs to give shape to individualised life forms in today’s globalised society? How can we take and give?

We will study the interface between spaces and a gradation of “public-ness” including, the connections between contrasting typologies; places where people consume and produce, eg. terraces, restaurants, bars, back of house kitchens… We will study connections and disconnections, breakages and links, cycles, regeneration, terminations. We will use typologies and basic architectural elements as tools and also employ abstract tools like scale, pace, moments alongside mundane actors like animals, nature, vehicles and objects like bread crumbs or coffee stains.

We will use drawings, diagrams and images to story find, story capture, and story tell and the culinary arts to understand process, material, haptics, observation, presentation and experiences. Eating creates a sense of “publicness” and it embodies sharing, consumption, production and exchange. This experiential process will be a key design technique to produce fun, bold, and playful design outcomes.

SOU FUJIMOTO ARCHITECTS

Established in Tokyo, Japan in 2000, Sou Fujimoto Architects is a Tokyo-based and Paris based group of over 80 architects, designers, craftsmen and thinkers all dedicated to pursue their craft, operating within the fields of architecture, urbanism, research and innovation. We provide a diverse and rigorous professional service to clients around the world, positing ideas and imaginations to the built environment. We have designed houses, temporary installations, medical and cultural facilities that have been recognised as vanguard designs throughout the world.
Sou Fujimoto Architects has won numerous awards and competitions: AR Award Grand Prize and 2008 Japan Institute of Architects Grand Prize for Children’s Psychiatric Rehabilitation Centre, the first prize award at the World Architectural Festival 2008 in Barcelona, Rice Design Alliance Award 2010, co-awarded the Golden Lion for the best National Participation at the 13th International Architectural Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, and “the New London Award 2013” for the Serpentine Pavilion. The practice has been rigorously involved in numerous International competitions and commissions currently in development in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In 2022, we saw a fruitful year of our efforts in Europe, completing the construction of the Hungarian House of Music Museum in Budapest, The HSG University learning Center in St Gallen and The Polytechnic Learning Center in Paris. Our process is collaborative and experimental, the output both pure and avant-garde. We pursue projects as a way of exploring the world and humanity.

|| Tokyo and Paris || Web link || Instagram link ||

Internships

Students accepted into the Sou Fujimoto Architects Studio at Venice Studio may be considered for available internship or job opportunities at Sou Fujimoto Architects. Selection of candidates is at the sole discretion of the studio director and Sou Fujimoto Architects. Places are not guaranteed.

VS24 Program Information

For Deatiled Program Information click HERE

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