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Santiago

Wednesday 4 – Friday 13 January 2012

In 2012 the AA/MARQ Visiting School at PUC will return to the extreme conditions of the Atacama desert in northern Chile. But after the rigours of the previous two years, this time we have decided to go there on Holiday and engage in a design project based on tourism. This Holiday demands that both participants and tutors become tourists, using the camera – tourism’s ‘quintessential weapon ’, as Alessandra Ponte would have it – as our principal design tool. Armed with our Canons, Nikons and Leicas, we will exploit Chile’s uniquely attenuated land mass in exploring the Atacama’s liminal zones – specifically those areas where the desert meets the Pacific. From our location by the seaside – in addition to Chile’s capital, Santiago – we will address the processes of leisure and human occupation along the desert edge. We will understand tourism as an unstoppable force that has created many human enclaves in extreme sites, thereby opening up a relationship between ‘difficult’ or ‘problematic’ territories and leisure.

Around these premises we will work on minimal programmes for desert coastal occupation by revisiting the study and design of tents and nomadic shelters as seasonal collective dwellings for the desert. With Archizoom, Ant Farm, Archigram and Superstudio as fundamental references, the spirit of the design brief is to be found within the 1960s – in membrane enclosures that symbolise much more than sheltering. We will then advance design investigations on tensile, fabric and pneumatic structures by introducing new technological, cultural and climatic considerations. The photo/ diagram/drawing of the membrane will be thus tied into ideas about landscape, environment and tourism. 

Within the physical and historical context of Atacama the workshop will combine design and theoretical enquiry while investigating a panoply of architectural, technical, art historical and cinematic images, helping us to imagine scenarios for the possible futures of the Atacama desert coast. 

Software requirements: Adobe Creative Suite and Rhino (SR7 or later). The workshop starts on 4 January at the Lo Contador Campus in Santiago, and then runs from 5–10 January in Bahía Inglesa, Atacama, before ending on 13 January in Santiago.

Applications

The deadline for applications is 9 December 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. Accommodation during the workshop is not provided, but advice accommodation options can be advised. 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.