This is an archive page for Chicago

Forthcoming dates for this school to be announced.

Chicago

Monday 13 – Friday 24 August 2012

To get things done in the modern city requires a successful campaign. Whether it’s a social media offensive to get America’s youth to vote in their first African-American president, or an environmentalist drive to re-reverse the flow of the Chicago river to keep invasive species from destroying Lake Michigan’s fishing industry, or the behind-the-scenes lobbying to pave the way for Chicago’s first casino, campaign strategies engage the city to achieve individual and collective gains. Often executed as an amalgamation of military-like precision and haphazard logic, the effectiveness of a campaign lies in the social, political and economic networks that make a city tick. And while architects are never shy to proclaim, and often quicker to disdain, architecture has yet to learn how to campaign.

The AA/UIC Visiting School design workshop will therefore explore how architecture can develop successful ways to campaign. By combining the potential of design intelligence with the power of propaganda, Campaigning Architecture will engage with and rethink architecture’s relevance to the city. 

The Visiting School is organised in collaboration with the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and will be taught by tutors from the AA and UIC. Site visits and lectures by some of Chicago’s leading designers, thinkers and protagonists will provide insight into the architectural culture of Chicago. The ten-day design workshop is open to students, recent graduates, young designers and architects, as well as professionals from related fields interested in exploring alternative forms of practice.

Students will work in small groups and then collectively assemble these works into an architectural publication like no other – one that will sabotage local media and prick up the ears of the city, from Jane Doe to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. By doing so, the workshop will enable participants to invest in the development of ideas for the future of Chicago.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 30 July 2012. All participants travelling from abroad are responsible for securing any visa required. After payment of fees, the AA can provide a letter confirming participation in the workshop. A portfolio or CV is not required, only the online application form and payment.

Fees

The AA Visiting School requires a fee of £695 per participant, which includes a £50 Visiting Membership. If you are already a member, the total fee will be reduced automatically by £50 by the online payment system.

Fees do not include flights or accommodation, but advice on accommodation options will be given. On campus accommodation will be provided at student rates. Students need to bring their own laptops, digital equipment and modelmaking tools. UH will also provide access to a computer lab and fully equipped prototyping centre. Please ensure this equipment is covered by your own insurance as the AA takes no responsibility for items lost or stolen at the workshop.

Eligibility
The workshop is open to architecture and design students and professionals worldwide.