Bartlett Development Planning Unit (PDU) summerLab

August / September 2011 - International

TheDevelopment Planning Unitin theBartlett Faculty of the Built Environment(UCL) is proud to announce the inauguralDPUsummerLab.

This new initiative seeks to establish a unique rotating platform for in situ immersion and experimentation in contested and transient urban environments where the boundaries of spatial agency are actively tested, hinging upon critical analysis and spatial knowledge development.Drawing on the extensive resources of theDPUin collaboration with local partners,DPUsummerLableverages the reality of the city as a laboratory for developing socially responsive design measures that provoke, stimulate, strategize, and reconsider the role of designers in furthering spatial justice. More info is available both in the attached leaflet and athttp://dpusummerlab.com/

Dates and locations are as follows:

22-27 August 2011 - Bucharest Spaces of Unrest in collaboration with Maria Duda, Faculty of Architecture, Universitatea Spiru Haret

Between 1982 and 1986 Bucharests urban environment underwent profound changes when President Ceausescu ordered the demolition of great portions of the urban fabric to make space for monumental buildings, which would celebrate the communist regimes magnificence. Traces of this operation are still visible today: neoclassical axes remain incomplete, empty areas dot the city centre, urban landscapes inevitably disconnected. Following the regimes fall, these interstitial spaces were colonised by the poorest strata of the population. As authorities aspire to give international touristic exposure to the city centre, many inhabitants are forced to leave. Studying and strategically expanding on these movements and the modifications brought upon the built environment and everyday practices in the city will be the main focus of the Bucharest summerLab.

5-10 September 2011 - Rome Occupation City in collaboration with Francesco Careri, Urban Studies Department Università Degli Studi Roma Tre

Currently there are nearly sixty squat-occupied spaces throughout Rome, whose network is administered and controlled by highly politicised and conflicting organisations. Rome summerLab will analyse the potentialities of these spaces working at two different scales. Firstly, particular focus will be on designing collective spaces that can contribute to re-connecting these urban fragments to the surrounding areas, enabling a positive interaction with the city as a whole. At the same time, participants will work on the functioning of the whole network, understanding its present strengths and weaknesses and its future critical opportunities.

The fee per participant is:£600 for the Bucharest workshop, £600 for the Rome workshop, or £1000 for both. These fees do not include travel or accommodation, so each participant needs to cover these costs, however the DPU, in collaboration with our local facilitators, will suggest several cheap and well located accommodation options.To apply please e-mail your CV/portfolio and application form (in PDF format, not more than 5MB)Andrew Wade(andrew.wade@ucl.ac.uk).Deadline for applications isMonday, 11 July 2011.Once offered a place, further instructions will be provided regarding the full payment of fees, additional logistics, and visa information.