Studio Architecture II: Future Architectures Platform
Studio A2 | Future Architectures Platform (A2|FAP) focuses on the production of ideas and work that aims to develop new forms of living that aspire to enable a more free and equitable society by looking into methods of co-operation, co-financing, co-living, co-working, co-education, and co-creation.
English is the A2|FAP's main communication language.
Ateliér architektury II: Future Architectures Platform
Ateliér A2 | Future Architectures Platform se zaměřuje na vytváření nových idejí a nových podob architektonické praxe. Náš cíl je podpořit tvorbu takových prostorů a architektur, které usilují o svobodnější a spravedlivější společnost. V ateliéru analyzujeme a vyvíjíme nové metody spolupráce, spolu-financování, soužití, společného vzdělávání a společného tvoření.
Hlavní jazyk výuky je angličtina.
Semester Assignment WS 2024/2025
A2|Future Architectures Platform
CITY OF CARE: How To Go From Bias To Inclusivity
Designing and building “a world for everyone” is only possible if we abandon the pretense that there is one ideal type of citizen. Until recently, this ideal was derived from a fairly homogeneous group in decision-making positions: heterosexual, cisgender, able-bodied, middle-aged/older, white, male, economically and socially secure, heads of families, later moving by car.
In recent decades, this system, including its limitations and blind spots, has been critically examined and addressed. New generations of citizens are growing up with values and principles very different from those that shaped the architecture and cities we inhabit. More and more people are aware of the number of crises we find ourselves in, from climate issues to mental health. In response, they are promoting gender-neutral, fluid and inclusive societies and developing their spatial qualities. However, established political practices still often exclude those with a strong awareness of the current polycrisis from the public sphere and public space. While many cities have made efforts to consider e.g. the needs of children and the elderly, other needs remain largely neglected. Wheelchair ramps, children's 'corners' and rolling counters in women's toilets have been a good start, but we now need to take the next step.
To create an inclusive city, we must embrace architectures that recognize and accommodate the diverse needs of citizens at all stages of life, including different emotional and physical needs. This involves integrating environmental neuroscience and the principles of care into urban planning and architecture, as well as being able to recognize our own embodied biases and the limitations they create in society. We must design spaces that accommodate non-conforming bodies and address e.g. the diverse experiences of aging, gender, and race. This is what City of Care stands for.
Such an inclusive approach to architecture aims to create conditions where living beings, across their body and life-experience diversities, can find spaces to develop, meet, produce intergenerational and interspecies exchange, and emancipate themselves. This approach goes beyond productive, residential, or leisure-oriented architecture and urbanism; it implies a city designed for all, with new spaces of action and interaction.
This semester, the A2|Future Architectures Platform will revisit the city of Prague and transform it into the City of Care by developing four urban typologies in the form of brief and short exercises. These will be led by visiting international professors who will guide the students through lectures and workshops to reflect, rethink, design, and propose new ideas of architecture and urbanism for a city for all.
WORKSHOP 1: URBAN KITCHEN
Oct 14-Oct 30
Workshop Leaders: Architecture and Care ETH Zurich (Anna Puigjanner, Shen He, Dafni Retzepi) https://c-a-r-e.xyz/
WORKSHOP 2: MAPPING OTHERWISE / : UNDER THE WALNUT TREE
Oct 31-Nov 13
Workshop Leaders: raumlaborberlin (Benjamin Foerster-Baldenius + Klodiana Millona) https://raumlabor.net/
WORKSHOP 3: CHILDHOOD, POLITICS, DESIGN
Nov 14-Nov 27
Workshop Leaders: Amica Dall + Penny Wilson (Assemble Play) https://assemblestudio.co.uk/projects/assemble-play
WORKSHOP 4: PLAYGROUNDS: PLACES OF UNLEARNING, DREAMING AND REVOLT
Nov 28-Dec 11
Workshop Leader: Eva Koťátková https://futuropolis.cz/
