Location:

Porto, Portugal

Program Type:

Study Abroad

Degree Level:

Undergraduate

Term:

Spring Break, Spring Semester, Summer

Program Overview

Program Description:

In 2015 Critical Concrete was founded with the ambition of promoting a new model: the refurbishment of abandoned places for social housing and cultural initiatives through summer camp programs centered around sustainable architecture and art in context. In this sense, we want to conceptually reconnect the artist to the amateur and foster the sharing of skills and knowledge between experienced practitioners and surrounding communities, material reuse and sustainable, ecological constructions. Thus, we aim to generate a cultural and social space in cohesion with a playground for architectural experimentation. In 2016, Critical Concrete will hold a summer school in Porto (Portugal), in the neighborhood of Bonfim, in collaboration with the Junta de Freguesia do Bonfim (Porto district municipality), through its new program Habitar. The program Habitar helps to find concrete solutions for the rehabilitation of abandoned spaces to put them back in the social housing circuit. In the Summer Course, we offer a completely unconventional and cutting edge program. We will work on innovative solutions for social housing, while simultaneously developing new working methods. Both students and young professionals will explore models of cooperative planning in interdisciplinary groups, design and build their projects, and engage with the surrounding communities.

We're quite proud of our team. There's no other place you'll know so many great teachers and mentors: Bellastock, Pedro Cavaco Leitão, Cultour, Matthias Einhoff (KUNSTrePUBLIK), Saskia Hebert (Subsolar), Patrick Hubmann, Jan Körbes (REFUNC), Miodrag Kuc (ParaArtFormation), Poligono, Alexander Römer (constructLab), João Pedro Rosa (4iS), Skrei, Colectivo Warehouse (list might slightly change still)"

This architecture summer school aims to: 1- Participate in the refurbishment of three houses that will become part of a social housing programme 2- Collectively design and build. Participatory processes in social architecture 3- Contribute to the neighbourhood’s cultural life, by opening our doors for some theoretical courses, evening and screenings 4- Construct the basis for a new production space in Porto, playing with popular formats (summer screening, markets, balls, etc.) filled with critical content 5- Development of high quality furnitures and architecture with a restricted budget and time. 6- Offer the students a new language of skills and techniques, both in community engagement and building strategies. 7- Offer the students a supportive network for their future project and their promotion, opening new professional perspectives 8- Offer a good mix of practical work, monitored by international and local mentors, and theoretical work, all this working in the frame of a social work engagement.

Setting Description:

---(INTENSIVE) PROGRAM--- Week 1 - design and first working steps Week 2/3 - building The 132 hours course will consist of: >>PRACTICAL WORKSHOPS Monday-Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 10am - 6pm Thursday-Friday 9am - 4pm >>THEORETICAL WORKSHOPS Monday-Tuesday 5pm - 7pm Thursday-Friday 5pm - 7pm First Saturday all day, architectural visit of the city with Cultour (Indicative planning, subject to adjustments)

Cost:

The fee for one the architecture program Practice & Theory of Sustainable and Social Architecture, for three weeks of courses and workshops, is: 1200€ student price 990€ early birds, applying before February 29th 1500€ institutional price This fee includes: - the theoretical and practical courses - the construction materials and availability of enough working tools. You're also very welcome to bring your favorite cordless drills (and put your name on it)!! - lunch and dinner from M

Additional Program Information

Scholarships:

No

Scholarships Description:

Armenian students are strongly encouraged to apply to the following programme: http://www.gulbenkian.pt/Institucional/en/Activities/ArmenianCommunities?a=3630 Polish students should get in touch with the IAM and apply to the programme Kultura Pols