This is an archive page for Istanbul

Istanbul

Saturday 24 – Friday 30 March 2012

Connected Tower is a continuation and augmentation of last year’s workshop on the ‘Crafted Tower’. It will amplify the concept of verticality in Istanbul, a city with a swelling population of towers that are constantly altering its urban fabric and its skyline. 

The workshop’s agenda is to radically decompose the tower in order to liberate it from its current fixed typology, which is dominated by repetition and segmentation. By challenging the architectural characteristics and urban implications of the city’s existing high-rises, we aim to set the tower free from the binary axioms it remains submerged in – building and city, circulation and habitation, structure and skin. 

The workshop will create an extreme testing ground where the tower can evolve from a solitary type into a novel vertical system inscribed with the qualities of adaptation, integration and fluidity. The design process highlights learning from the integrated nature of biological systems in order to infuse vertical systems with adaptive, multi-functional qualities. The generation of differentiated verticality is carried out by algorithmic design processes in various computation platforms. Creations in the digital world are then tested and realised with digital fabrication processes involving diverse CNC methods, leading to the production of physical prototypes of various scales. Complementing Connected Tower ’s agenda, a series of lectures by leading academics and professionals will be organised as part of the workshop’s public events. 

The extreme spatial dimension of verticality will be put to the test through an online platform linking the workshop with another AA Visiting School, AA Athens, which is taking horizontality as its agenda. Participants are encouraged to join both workshops in order to experience the transition between the two architectural limits, and fee discounts will be offered to those interested taking part in both Athens and Istanbul.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 10 March 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 are non refundable. Fees do not include flights. Fee discounts available, please visit the Istanbul programme site for more information.

Accommodation during the workshop is not provided, but advice on accommodation options can be given. Students need to bring their own laptops, digital equipment and model making tools. 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.