Admission
Limited positions, selected by portfolio
When
19 - 28 July 2024
Where
Florence, Italy
Reuse the Ruin – Summer Architecture Workshop is an intensive summer course specifically oriented to provide a complete experience in architectural restoration, from the theory to the details.
It is a multidisciplinary experience meant to give you a complete framework of the issues inherent to the restoration project through various activities: lectures and reviews by international architects, such as H Arquitectes, Carles Enrich, Zamboni Associati, Markus Scherer, Assemble Studio and Italian University Professors; an applied design studio about the reconstruction of the Rocca di Sala (Pietrasanta, Lucca), with a site inspection and a final public exhibition of the projects. Furthermore, for the first time, an introductory online course, on demand, about the history and theory of restoration
This experience allows you to deal with the reuse of an abandoned ruin through the lens of the architectural project. After a site inspection, you will be asked to design a reuse proposal for the ruin. New knowledge acquired during the lectures can be implemented daily in the workshop sessions — learning-by-doing — under the supervision of the academic and international firms’ teaching staff.
Average rating 4.5 out of 5 based on 50 feedbacks over three workshop editions.
Teaching Staff
Carles Enrich
Carles Enrich Studio is a practice, based in Barcelona, that works at different scales in the fields of architecture, urban design and landscape. Carles’ unceasing research led him to base his activity also on teaching, as an associate lecturer at the ETSAB, ETSAV and Reus.
H Arquitectes
H Arquitectes is an architecture studio based in Sabadell, Barcelona. Their work has received various recognitions and award. El Croquis has dedicated an entire issue to their works. They have been widely invited as lecturers in many events in Europe and America.
Markus Scherer
Markus Scherer is an Austrian-born architect who lives and works in Merano. He graduated from IUAV in Venice in 1990 and founded his studio in 2001. He is known for his restoration projects of historical buildings. He has received several awards for his works, such as the Piranesi Award and the Arkitekturpreis Südtirol.
Zamboni Associati
Zamboni Associati is an architecture studio founded in 2010. Based in Reggio Emilia, the studio works on a variety of projects aiming to create innovative and quality solutions. ZA has participated in national and international competitions and has received several awards and recognitions for its work.
Assemble Studio
Assemble is a multi-disciplinary collective working across architecture, design and art. Founded in 2010 to undertake a single self-built project, Assemble has since delivered a diverse and award-winning body of work, whilst retaining a democratic and cooperative working method that enables built, social and research-based work at a variety of scales, both making things and making things happen.
Studio Wok
Studio Wok’s research is led by the concept of habitat, understood as the quality of living. A quality that derives from a constant, active and accurate research: architecture, design and landscape are the basic elements of a practice that seeks to create dedicated projects, on both residential and urban scales, with consistency and care.
Prof. Maurizio De Vita
Full Professor of Architectural Restoration at the University of Florence. From 2013 he is Director of the Specialisation School of Architectural an Landscape Heritage at the University of Florence. He has been Visiting Professor at the Syracuse University School of Architecture in New York.
Local architects and scholars
Participants will be guided daily by a teaching staff from the architecture practices of Florence, as Filoferro Architetti, and scholars from the Universities of Florence and Pisa.
Final Review Critics
The public final review will be led by external critics and guests: Federica Sofia Zambeletti from Koozarch, Marcello Galiotto and Alessandra Rampazzo from Studio AMAA.
Program
LECTURES
The lectures provide a complete framework of knowledge about architectural restoration, through the analysis of a few selected themes and projects, explained by qualified professors and the best international firms that work on the topic of reuse and restoration.
DESIGN STUDIO
After a site inspection of the Rocca di Pietrasanta, participants, divided by international teams, will develop a reuse project under the supervision of the teaching staff and the lecturers.
EXHIBITION AND PUBLICATION
At the end of the workshop, there will be a final review with external guests and an exhibition of the reuse projects, open to the public. Participants are also encouraged to explore Florence during their free time.
Introductory online courses
Once accepted to the workshop, participants can access an e-learning platform that provides a global introduction to architecture restoration theory, history, and Italian masters. The lessons can be taken autonomously on demand, at home, anytime before the workshop.
Study case: Rocca di Pietrasanta
Workshop Location: Palazzo dei Congressi
Learn with the Masters: Teaching Staff Portfolio
First edition
Summer Architecture Workshop 2021
The first edition about an abandoned medieval village took place in July 2021. The lectures have been held at Marino Marini Museum and the workshop at Officina Creativa.
Second edition
Summer Architecture Workshop 2022
The second edition about the Castle of Montemassi took place in Florence in July 2022. The lectures have been held at Cinema La Compagnia and the workshop took place at Villa Vittoria.
Third edition
Summer Architecture Workshop 2023
The third edition of the workshop, about the Pieve di Santa Vittoria of Sarteano, took place in Florence in July 2023. The lectures and workshop took place at Palazzo degli Affari.
