the public school for architecture brussels

proposals

to propose a class for something you would like to take, or teach, or see happen you can make a post on facebook, click ‘make proposals’ on thepublicschool.org website, or email a proposal to info@psfa-bxl.org.

past meetings

oct 29, 2016, architecture & origami: form to structure

architecture always reaches out for inspiration from various sources—among which origami. the discipline of origami brings structural principles to the forefront such as a three dimensional object having the option of being a two dimensional surface. look around, in your urban environment you are surrounded by folds—an articulated bus, a sunshade outside your favorite bar, a satellite deploying its solar sails…can you think of other examples?

oct 22, 2016, l28_urban sound design—spatial design transversal discussion

the public school for architecture brussels is organizing an open transversal discussion following the session #2 talks of l28_urban sound design studio on cartography. the discussions are an opportunity for the public to engage with the invited speakers on the relation of sound, architecture and urban space.

oct 15, 2016, l28_urban sound design—cartography transversal discussion

oct 8, 2016, l28_urban sound design—territories transversal discussion

jul 19, 2016, psfa-bxl | bxl wildlife—de l’anarchie, hommes libres ou sauvages?

proposition de débat: de l’anarchie, hommes libres ou sauvages? à partir de la lecture de quelques textes de proudhon.

jul 18, 2016, psfa-bxl | bxl wildlife—sleeping in the park

i’ld like to lead a working table/class to answer the open question of the brussels government asked via a brussels information medium: it’s not a question of punishment or not, but of how we can make people understand that you can simply not sleep in the park?

jul 17, 2016, psfa-bxl | bxl wildlife—living x50

living x50 !, a day with insects and butterflies. ie. taking some time to observe microcosmos through binocular – maybe can we invite an entomologist to guide us?

jul 16, 2016, psfa-bxl | bxl wildlife—l’illusion d’une vie libre au contact de la vie sauvage?

“en remplaçant l’image d’un animal enfermé par celle d’un animal libre, la nouvelle présentation des animaux à stellingen comble le spectateur, qui entre dans un domaine imaginaire, simulant et stimulant l’llusion de sa propre évasion. la scénographie des zoos illusionnistes repose implicitement sur la croyance que l’homme civilisé peut redécouvrir une vie libre au contact de la vie sauvage” baratay et hardouin fugier cit. in trois zoos humains, nikola jankovic 2012. en quoi le principe du bxl wildlife festival se rapproche, ou s’eloigne, d’un tel procédé ?

apr 20, 2016, black market: area c, system d

a screening of an excerpt from area c, system d, a work in progress by artist and documentarian polina medvedeva followed by a q and a with the filmmaker. filmed over the course of 2014/2015 in al-ram, kufr aqab and the qalandia, al amari and kaddura refugee camps, the documentary deals with informal sociopolitical structures in the area, which remains practically ungoverned by both palestinian and israeli authorities.

apr 20, 2016, black market: rules for breaking (in)

cities are layered with many sets of formal and informal codes that choreograph and mediate the social relations of urban life. the practice of architecture can be framed in terms of the code writing, scripting and choreography that operates within the semiotic structures of the city. script writing was taken up by architects starting from the 60’s. this workshop will consider the form of the “squatters’ handbook” as it has appeared in different iterations in contexts from amsterdam to london to new york city. these handbooks, or guides will be used to frame a discussion of the relationships between publishing and media production practice, building and material intervention in the city, and articulations of politics and political practice in urban space. this discussion will consider the possibilities of imagining radical modes of architectural practice that writes into, rewrites, or hacks the various code system that create and organize the city.

apr 20, 2016, black market: examples of architectural/design activism

the strongly hierarchical macro-structures that rule our society and contemporary cities are founded on the desire of total control and organization. opportunity for creativity and free expressions is left behind. the insertion in some strategic but forgotten urban space in european cities of small design interventions will have the multiple intentions of provoking a reaction both from citizens and from the institutions and at the same time revitalize a blind corner of the city.

jan 30, 2016, bedroom talks n°2: shopping on film

shopping is an everyday cultural act; it is inevitable, taken for granted. entering into the world of shopping—the world of shopping malls—can be a dantean voyage into hell or a redeeming ceremony of communion. everyone is familiar with this experience and knows what a mall looks like.through a screening and discussion of the harun farocki’s 2001 documentary film, ‘the creators of shopping worlds’, this class expands on both the practical and conceptual questions explored in the exhibition ‘tango challenge’.

dec 16, 2015, the future of the public school for architecture brussels—II

common room produced ‘the public school for architecture brussels’, a publication which documents the activities that took place during the residency. on the occasion of the book’s publication, the public school for architecture brussels will reflect on the past activities of the school and its future.

dec 8, 2015, mediating [infra]structures: ontwerp van kleinschalige mobiliteitsknopen

ontwerpstrategieën voor stedelijke stationsomgevingen hebben we stilaan wel onder de knie. niet-stedelijke openbaar vervoersknooppunten veel minder. door de opmars van regionale ov-projecten wordt het steeds meer een relevant ontwerpvraagstuk. wat zijn mogelijke ontwerpstrategieën om dit soort opgaves aan te pakken?

nov 2, 2015, in conversation with nina rappaport

belgian architects eva de fré and dieter leyssen engage in a dialogue with new york based architectural critic, curator, and educator nina rappaport on the relation of spaces of production in cities and the process of gentrification. in the light of the ongoing transformation of the brussels canal area, they will discuss new possible paradigms for sustainable, hybrid, and transparent urban industries that also take into account the worker in the city and the new economy.

oct 10, 2015, italian theories: radical architecture

this class is about the pre and the post of radical architecture in italy. we will start with the book “the project of autonomy” by pier vittorio aureli, and also cover “the architecture of the city” by aldo rossi and “architecture and utopia—design and capitalist devenlopment” by manfredo tafuri. what does it mean today to study radical architecture? and what does it mean for us, as students, to take radical drawings as references? we will try to answer these questions and try to understand what of the radical remains.

oct 1, 2015, mediating [infra]structures: testing the potential for public-ness

ikea commercial centers are places where you can find a wide variety of people with different backgrounds and occupations and from different cultures. as such, they have the potential to be places “in which strangers are likely to meet.” this psfa-bxl class is an experiment in testing the potential of meeting strangers in one of contemporary society’s iconic shopping centers, the ikea commercial center.

sep 27, 2015, outpost periferia: atelier productive city

architecture workroom brussels is launching a project in which it retraces the human capital behind the productive city. an exhibition in the industrious area of buda, currently being assembled, will show portraits and stories of people in their working environment in the urban and industrial areas of the brussels metropolitan area.

sep 27, 2015, outpost periferia: holy shit preacher—high mass

as part of the public school for architecture brussels’ outpost at the periferia festival, collective disaster is presenting it’s holy shit preacher, and proposing a suburban stroll in the northern periphery of brussels following the trace of meanings and hidden potentials. within the intimate privacy of defecation/contemplation and during a group digestion, they will “ferment the pathogens of our days.”

sep 27, 2015, outpost periferia: spacial illusions

join wauw for the creation of a collective artwork underneath the viaduct in vilvoorde as part of the periferia trail of artworks and installations along the canal. using the pillars as a canvas, the large drawing installation will be designed and executed using lines and planes and gravity.

sep 26, 2015, outpost periferia: renault=espace

the northern periphery of brussels, with its vacant lots, abandoned buildings and decaying infrastructure, is in need of a new framework for restructuring and redevelopment. in this fascinating area in the outskirts of brussels, the public school for architecture brussels will join city3 and the periferia festival to organise an open exercise in collective thinking about new types of urbanism for the periphery of brussels.

sep 15, 2015, outpost periferia: safari—exploring the west fringe of brussels

this safari class explores an area in the western periphery of brussels called neerpede. since a few years, ibge/bim and the flemish land agency vlm have been working together on an ambitious interregional masterplan for the redevelopment of this peri-urban zone in the west of brussels. the strategic objectives consist in preserving and optimizing the landscape and its ecological and cultural heritage.

sep 12, 2015, mediating [infra]structures: inspecting ‘the gruen effect’

the viennese architect victor gruen is considered the father of the shopping centre. this public school class will first screen the documentary ‘the gruen effect’, this documentary explores the themes and translation errors that have come to define urban life. after the screening, a debate will be held to assess wether this negative interpretation of the shopping centre is a ubiquitous phenomenon or not. does the shopping centre thus merely serve ‘the new gods of consumption’, or is it a new figure of collectivity in the post-war urban realm?

sep 12, 2015, mediating [infra]structures: seamless retail design: the store of the future

this talk will present the results of the summer school “seamless retail design: integrating the spatial, experiential and digital”. the goal of this 10-day summer school was to let students from different disciplines collectively reflect on the challenges and opportunities of the “store of the future”.

sep 2, 2015, outpost periferia: safari—exploring the south periphery of brussels

this safari class invites you for an exploration of the southern periphery of brussels. the tour will include the metro station of ceria coovi, the canal of brussels, to “the lock of aa”, the senne river, all the way into drogenbos, flanders.

aug 24, 2015, outpost periferia: safari—discovering the east fringe of brussels

this safari class explores a part of the east periphery of brussels. the tour will include the reyers district, colonel bourg, the gulledelle and roodebeek area in woluwe-saint-lambert, flanders and the vuilbeek.

jun 15, 2015, guerrilla picnicking: malleable public spaces?

the public status of shopping centers is contestable. on the one hand they are controlled spaces of consumption, on the other hand, the shopping center is synonymous with suburban life, where often these are convenient and available civic places for entertainment, social gatherings and cultural engagement. part public celebration and part public protest, the guerilla picnic serves to increase the options for belonging within a shopping center by a non-purchasing public.

may 31, 2015, 2050. a mundaneum for the left bank of antwerp—session 3

a drift between chance and planning along the left bank of antwerp. this class is built up around entropy and its potential relevance in the (un)built environment. entropy stands for the tendency to disorder of nature. architecture stands between order and disorder, the man-made and nature, on the border and in the chaos. the public domain has become mere infrastructure, the public life of confrontation and encounter has shifted to the online domain. how to design public space and for who even? what is the public need? is there a need for open space?

may 26, 2015, how to produce living knowledge

we want to identify the knowledge as the strategic battlefield for the redefinition of relations of class. knowledge is neither good nor bad: it is the content and the stakes of a clash, it doesn’t exist outside of a fight and into the parties that embody it, and is now crossed by an constructive ambivalence, as productive force and land exploitation. cognitivization and precariousness of work, the intertwining of the economic crisis and the crisis of the university, the transformation of knowledge and education systems.

may 23, 2015, if i knew then what i know now

the success of an designer depends on developing the ability to reflect critically and constructively not only on one’s products, but also one’s process. this workshop will invite practitioners and students to critique their own practice with explicit reference to their own formal design education.

apr 19, 2015, 2050. a mundaneum for the left bank of antwerp—session 2

apr 10, 2015, a mundaneum for the left bank of antwerp: a non-guided tour of linkeroever

apr 9, 2015, the space of fiction

this class will explore fiction as a tool for approaching, thinking about, and creating space. the tools that are used in fiction allow space to materialize in the readers imagination by weaving together the images from one’s own experience. in this class we will examine a number of short passages from well known works of fiction in order to open up how we approach real space.

mar 26, 2015, afrofuturism

long before anyone had given it a name, artists such as sun ra, lee perry and george clinton already represented the first effervescence of afrofuturism. combining music and science fiction, their creations forced fantasy to fall within the bounds of reality. the objective here is to provide some examples of what it can generate in terms of creation. this talk will explore afrofuturism as a process of meaning creation in arts.

mar 21, 2015, workshop for schizo-linearity

the workshop for schizo-linearity is an irregular series of encounters that is not bound to a specific format, but explores the range of potential urban practices. it tries to host an ongoing discussion on power, on technology as an instantiation of power relations, and on the specific technologies of architecture and urbanism. it will look for the excluded fragments of the discourse, analysing mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion, authorship, institutions, legal processes—in short the said and the unsaid.

dec 16, 2014, architecture and power: assorted glimpses of the governed city

on the apparatus, means of technology, psychogeography and its framework in society.

dec 16, 2014, architecture and power: on global governance

this class deals with the history and theory of political representation in representative democracy and global governance.

dec 16, 2014, architecture and power: cities (and regions) within a city

this presentation explores how sub-national institutions help create a european imaginary in brussels. the talk analyzes the vast impact that an intervention very small in scale—the use and re-imagination of select buildings by the subnational institutions—has on brussels’ urban form and function.

dec 15, 2014, architecture and power: projects and issues in the quartier léopold

having developed several projects for the quartier léopold, xaveer de geyter has first hand experience concerning architectural projects in the european quarter. how do politics relate to architecture in terms of guidelines, program and understanding?

dec 15, 2014, architecture and power: on the legal aspects of drones

a look at the legal status of the autonomous drone, and what happens when your data becomes too personal.

dec 12, 2014, architecture and power: the moment before the moment

the search and the acceptance of the architecture project as not just a representation of a plan or the intention the architect but as being autonomous. it is about the forcing the character that architecture has. as a designer we determine what is seen and not seen, what rooms can be entered and which cannot. starting with the imagination we think about the meaning that architecture has, rather than the physical use of architecture.

dec 12, 2014, architecture and power: an analysis of the relations between power, discourse and materiality in cypriot commemoration sites

this talk discusses how the statues, commemoration sites and cemeteries in the south of the island intervene in the cypriot public spaces by presenting heroic imaginaries that celebrate the greek-cypriot fighters in, and victims of, the independence war, the intra-communal violence of the 1960s and the turkish invasion of 1974.

dec 12, 2014, architecture and power: façade as representation of power

a façade can be made up of multiple layers each creating a new reality complexity creates an abstraction of reality and exposes the fictional and unreal character of the façade. the different layers allow an inquiry into the true reality that is no more. the viewer looks for and gets lost in fiction and complexity.

dec 10, 2014, architecture and power: participate, make, bake, speak, reflect and listen

this class will provide a more interactive introduction to the discursive subject of architecture and power. a self-made oven made out of terra-cotta pots will be present at the event. this oven is the representation of a basic architecture, which the user afterwards can appropriate. the oven as an instrument will invite the social activity of making bread in togetherness.

dec 10, 2014, architectuur en macht: de macht van: gebruiker, herinnering, context

gebruiker, herinnering, context. gebruiker—de bewoner is diegene die ruimte ondervind, hij gebruikt de ruimte. deze ruimte, het gebouwde is bedacht door de architect, het zijn zijn ideeën die de ruimte hebben vormgegeven. herinnering—nostalgie is iets persoonlijk. iets dat iets blijft zonder dat het fysiek nog aanwezig is, juist de herinnering. context—de plaats heeft een macht op ons als gebruiker van de ruimte. een context kan mensen opleggen om bepaalde acties te ondernemen. maar kan het ons ons ook volledig vrij laten zonder aan ruimtelijke kwaliteit in te boeten. we starten met drie introducties waarin we werken rondom deze thema’s. om daarna deze resultaten in een overkoepelend debat over architectuur en macht samen te brengen. om ons hierbij te ondersteunen komen lieven de cauter, gideon boie en kristof uytterhoeven.

nov 28, 2014, speed trip—brussels parking garage derive

in our time, and especially in our city, parking garages are both hated and loved, booming and going extinct. speed trip: brussels parking garage dérive proposes a carpool daytrip around town. we’ll stitch together a route via both brussels’ well-known and its more exotic parking garages. participants will share cars and document the disconnected nodes along the way.

nov 16, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] présentation du projet chemindesterrils

projet chemindesterrils, présentation du projet déposé à la ville et les avancées actuelles. présentation diapo par micheline dufert. passionnés de sentiers, de liaisons vicinales, de chemins au long cours, de sentiers de grande randonnée, d’architectures urbaines, de paysages de terre et de béton, du charbon à la métallurgie.

nov 16, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] mapping charleroi

this class explores the role that maps can play in how we understand the city. by using maps as a tool, the class aims to explore our various and often contradictory experiences of the city. participants are invited to create their own maps of charleroi as a way of exploring the exisiting and potential spacial and social conditions of the city.

nov 16, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] shopping on film

this class proposes a series of films on shopping, screened in the passage de la bourse. the neo—classical shopping passage once filled with vibrant stores and boutiques, of which today only one remains, sits at the center of the commercial development poised to regenerate the ville basse.

nov 16, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] project tower

during the class we will explore the possibilities of the collaborative construction (tower) that has been built on the rive gauche construction site for hotel charleroi 2014. we will work together to design and execute an intervention that deals with the ephemeral and multifaceted nature of the tower and the possibilities of its public use.

nov 15, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] presentation: ‘without growth’ / hotel charleroi/ filka sekulova and lecture by florence scialom

book presentation: ‘without growth’ / hotel charleroi/ filka sekulova. for each of his future exhibitions stijn van dorpe creates a booklet titled: ‘without growth’. therefore he invites writers, activists or researchers to reflect, in a critical and adventurous way, on the idea of a society based on a non-growing economy. for this occasion florence scialom who will write the text for the next edition will give a short lecture.

nov 15, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] rubbing charleroi

frottage is an artistic technique in which graphite or pastel is rubbed over a textured surface. it embraces improvisation and indeterminacy by incorporating chance and randomness into the process of creation. after a brief demonstration, we will go out into charleroi and employ this method of creative production as a way of exploring and understanding the city.

nov 15, 2014, [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] création d’un sentier de randonnée à travers la chaîne des terrils

dans le cadre du projet chemins desterrils, création d’un sentier de randonnée à travers la chaîne des terrils. ascension du terril des piges depuis l’auditorium. passionnés de sentiers, de liaisons vicinales, de chemins au long cours, de sentiers de grande randonnée, d’architectures urbaines, de paysages de terre et de béton, du charbon à la métallurgie… micheline dufert et francis pourcel ils nous emmenent pour un tour inspiré par le décor post- industriel. (forte déclivité, chaussures de randonnée conseillées.)

nov 15, 2014 [psfa-bxl—outpost charleroi] rereading the arcades project

walter benjamin’s “arcade project” is a collection of reflections on the 19th century city life of paris. fashion, prostitution, dream city, boredom are among the subjects he discusses from his experiences of paris. this class will be a discussion about benjamin’s work and the ways in which it can produce meaning for the present situation in charleroi and it’s new shopping mall development.

nov 15, 2014, the public school for architecture brussels—outpost charleroi

the public school for architecture brussels will create an outpost during hotel charleroi 2014 to provide an open forum to explore the implications of the current and planned infrastructural changes in charleroi and the possibilities that an alternative educational platform can offer the charleroi community as the city continues to develop.

nov 5, 2014, rammed earth constructions: characteristics, potentials and limits in modern society

many advantages can be associated to earth constructions but the two main drawbacks are compressive strength and labor costs. after some of the characteristics are discussed, we can look into the different ways we could overcome these drawbacks. the class will be subject to science, theory and design, necessarily crossing social and political aspects.

oct 25, 2014, post-foundational architectures?

this scenography workgroup meeting will happen in brussels and be dedicated to the possibility of a post-foundational architecture, and the implications of post-foundational political thought on spatial production.

sep 14, 2014, holy shit! what a summer at the parck..!

a playful discursive event to reflect upon the knowledge and experience gathered at usine du tresor noir during parckdesign 2014. usine du tresor noir is a dry toilet installation in public space which produces fertile soil (terra-preta) out of the visitor’s waste.

jun 12, 2014, the future of the public school for architecture brussels

please join us to find out more about the public school for architecture brussels and its future, and find ways that you can participate, including joining the committee to help run the school.

jun 11, 2014, the mental masonry lab session 2 of 2

the mental masonry lab is an artistic project of cédric noël and mira sanders that invites the spectator to reflect on public space through exercises of the imagination. it is a practice in constituting a space. the mental masonry lab resulted from a question: how can we develop a tactic that would allow our imagination to blossom when faced with the preponderance of those urban signs intended for collective use?

jun 11, 2014, comment réaffecter des bâtiments inoccupés

bruxelles connaît un grand nombre d’immeubles de bureaux vides ou à l’abandon, et de nombreuses friches industrielles qui ne retrouveront plus jamais leur vocation initiale. pourquoi ne pas transformer ces immeubles dans une fonction résidentielle ou autre? mais quel est le potentiel de réutilisation de ces infrastructures vacantes?

jun 10, 2014, a (not so small) revolution: project morrinho

how can art produce effective social change? in this session, project morrinho will be introduced with a very brief discussion (15 min) of the history of morrinho in relation to art projects aiming social change. this will be followed by the screening of the film documentary “god knows everything but is not a snitch” (2008) (80 min) about morrinho.

jun 10, 2014, the mental masonry lab session 1 of 2

jun 8, 2014, explanatory workshop @ the usine du trésor noir (temple of holy shit)

usine du trésor noir is a public waste installation with dry toilet, whose purpose is to convert the bio-waste produced by the park and its visitors into rich terra-preta soil for the gardens in and around the area. the explanatory workshop will be given by collective disaster. they will explain to the park’s farmers and other interested public everything about terra preta and how the installation in the new park nearby thurn & taxi is conceived to communicate it’s production.

may 23, 2014, projet urbain

recyclart et ses voisins ce n’est pas que dans les marolles! la gare congrès est entrée cette année dans le giron des actions artistiques de notre structure ; première étape donc de ce lien avec les voisins de la gare congrès avec monsieur urbain, une icône pour ceux qui connaissent la gare. concierge-responsable, qui avec dévotion et tendresse a passée des décennies a s’occuper du lieu, à l’habiter. avant son départ à la retraite, avant de vider son bureau (sa cachette?) de la gare congres et d’en repartir avec tous ses souvenirs vers ses vertes prairies flamandes natales, on s’attachera avec lui et avec vous à un partage tendre et amusé de ces moments.

may 13, 2014, ecohousing—techniques, art in design, purpose, collaboration, examples

alternative construction methods: strawbale, sandbag, self-bearing, foundations free, green roof, green-house, rain and grey water management, clivus multrum, endless constructional possibilities. the class will present these ideas, show some pictures and videos, talk a bit about experiences.

may 7, 2014, kindergartens in medellin: three variations on a theme

this course will present some ideas related to the design process of three kindergartens in medellin, colombia, each thought as a different variation on the same theme: a spatially organized and modular system loosely inspired by tessellations and voronoi diagrams.

apr 29, 2014, architecture and pedagogy

a talk about the public school for architecture brussels and other projects with some more general thoughts and questions on the topic of architecture and pedgogy.

apr 28, 2014, action class—decolonizing the city

lecture / workshop / public action / debate with daar. action classes stimulate people to share, to realize floating ideas, to join actions, because projects are everywhere. daar’s practice is centred on one of the most difficult dilemmas of political practice: how to act both propositionally and critically within an environment in which the political force field is so dramatically distorted.

apr 25, 2014, screening brussels

focusing on the transformation of brussels during the twentieth century by using a wide selection of non fiction archive footage, this class would discuss what the filmic representation of brussels reveals about the urban experience.

apr 16, 2014, making posters for the public school for architecture brussels

to support the public school for architecture brussels—and to provide it with some nice promotional material—wolke is organizing a poster class on wednesday 16/4. come over, have a drink, wear make-up and design a poster!

feb 12, 2014, the public school for architecture brussels

common room will introduce the project ‘the public school for architecture brussels’.