Terrain Lab 2024

Terrain Lab 2024 will continue exploring the lagoon of Venice, a delicate intertidal ecosystem since its inception. In its fourth trajectory of studies of the MED Reports, exploring soaking silts, moving margins, and salty states, the VS critically reflects on liminality and processes of formation, preservation, or loss of wetlands and their externalities.

With the aim to foster an improved understanding of collective agency operating at the intersection of anthroposphere, biosphere, and geosphere, the course will inquire into the nature of the Venice lagoon, to dissect its historic anthropogenic alterations and contemporary manufacturing.


Seeking a pedagogy that understands design as a mean to research, disclose, represent and question the various processes involving transitional territories, the VS develops means of mapping, surveying and recording transitional territories, envisioning strategies of care for water ecologies.

Terrain LAB employs of a working methodology that bridges architectural studies with landscape urbanism approach, integrating urban political ecology, environmental and cultural studies. This approach is developed through the contribution of lectures, experts, artists, writers, historians, curators, and researchers specializing in topics of environmental humanities, ecology, heritage, and climate change.

Course leader

Elena Longhin

Target group

The programme is open to current landscape, architecture, and design students, PhD candidates and young professionals, as well as to those studying humanities, geography, philosophy, material and cultural studies. Software Requirements: Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCad or Rhino. +18 y.o. age requirement.

Course aim

- Learn a methodology which has the capacity to bridge architectural studies, landscape urbanism approach with urban political ecology, and environmental and cultural studies.
- Develop the theoretical, methodological and representational means to address the social, ecological and geopolitical complexities that characterize the current condition of planetary urbanization.
- Engage with the concepts of operational landscapes and the notion of the Capitalocene.
- Learn to combine geospatial knowledge and tools with design methodologies and representational means.
- Learn how to use GIS software, source data collection and develop cartographic representations to describe systems and patterns organizing the territory.
- Understanding urbanization as a no-fixed-scale phenomenon whose entanglements with nature exceed the boundaries of inhabited spaces and cities.
- Participate in the long-term construction of a dedicated exhibition and publication.

Fee info

GBP 695: The AA Visiting School requires a fee of £695 per participant for the entire programme, which includes a £60 Digital Membership fee, payable by all participants.

Scholarships

20% bursaries available to current AA students, your fee will be altered upon AA log in during the registration.