Sewing a Small Town 2016 | Call for Participants

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Sewing A Small Town: Environmental Networks and Strategic Places
Architecture Summer School 2016 | Gassino Torinese – Italy | July 18-30, 2016

Introduction
Located 15 km from Turin, in the center of Piedmont, a region internationally known for prestigious wine (such as Barbera, Moscato, Barolo and many others) and the slow food concept, one hour by train from Milan, two hours from the town of Genoa, in Liguria, and only an hour and a half by plane from Paris, Gassino Torinese is characterized by a medieval historic center waiting for a new reuse, because of its geographical position: in fact, Gassino Torinese acts as a barycenter for the settlements along the river Po, in the stretch between San Mauro Torinese and Chivasso.

The design themes will focus on the renovation, reuse and re-utilization of old and valuable buildings located in this region to be transformed in strategic places to be integrated into a contemporary territorial context so to create a smart, open source system of cities, that makes everything circular: it will be a territory of the hybrid and of former structures to be transformed into poles for the creation of a network of public transport and social exchanges, today nonexistent. Projects to connect former factories, former bus and tramway stations, former agriculture structures etc., are what the participants will have to develop during the two-weeks workshop. The summer school will explore the possibilities of conscious interventions in strategic places surrounding Gassino Torinese through regional networks made up of contemporary sustainable architecture.

The activities will consist of theoretical evening courses and a design workshop for 25 participants, selected through the evaluation of portfolios and curriculum vitae by a scientific committee. One challenge that the summer school addresses is the sensibilization of participants to an ideal of modern and sustainable architecture as solution to the qualitative reuse of the existing heritage. The theory courses organized within the summer school will address issues related to the paradigm of reuse applied to the design of the territories of the contemporary age. The topic that will be addressed concerns the redefinition of abandoned buildings that can take an identitarian role towards inhabited places increasingly founded on local networks, on the geographic constants and on the overcoming of the compact city.

The historic core of Gassino Torinese will become an open-air laboratory in which experimentation will suggest new and innovative ways to reconsider the built environment, reevaluating the physical memory of the region’s past, toward a “smart land” regenerating via cultural promotion, active participation, the construction of regional networks and partnerships and the launching of social ventures for innovation.

Organizers and tutors
Alberto Bologna, Cinzia Gavello, Patrick Giromini, Graciliano Berrocal Hernández, Josep-Maria Garcia Fuentes, Fabio Guida, Ramon Rispoli, Alberto Rosso, Aldric Rodriguez Iborra

Critics and Lecturers
Carmen Andriani, Armando Baietto, Claudio Bertorelli, Michele Bonino, Nicola Braghieri, Lorenzo Degli Esposti, Federico Della Puppa, Nicola Emery, Roberto Masiero, Paolo Mighetto, Subhash Mukerjee, Marco Navarra, Sergio Pace, Riccardo Palma, Dario Parigi, Edoardo Piccoli, Michelangelo Sabatino, Valter Scelsi, Davide Servente, Luka Skansi, Marco Trisciuoglio, Guillermo Vazquez Consuegra.

Location
Gassino Torinese, Italy (Latitude: 45.127292 – Longitude: 7.824942).

Period
From July 18 to 30, 2016. Arrival and welcome of the participants on Sunday, July 17. The opening activities of the summer school will take place on Monday, July 18, with the presentation of the project areas including a tour of the villages surrounding Gassino Torinese. An intermediate critique in the presence of a jury composed of external critics is scheduled for Saturday, July 23. The conclusion and presentation of the work will take place on Saturday, July 30: a jury composed of external critics will comment on projects during the day and during the closing evening.

Eligibility
Gassino Summer School is open to a maximum of 25 participants, students or graduates in architecture (Bachelor or Master), Ph.D. students and architects less than thirty years old on July 30, 2016. These 25 participants will be selected through the evaluation of portfolios and curriculum vitae by a scientific committee.

Technical equipment required
Every participant must have his/her own laptop with the desired drawing software installed, as well as a camera.

Costs
The registration fee of 500 euros includes: overnight accommodation (from July 17 to 30 included) in a dormitory located in the historical center of Gassino Torinese; lunches from Monday to Friday, visits to Turin city center and the Basilica of Superga (by bus) and to the villages surrounding Gassino Torinese (by bus); preliminary informative materials; excellent tutoring and teaching provided by internationally known architects, architectural historians and critics during workshop and evening lectures. The cost of participation excludes: travel expenses, dinners, Saturday and Sunday lunches and everything not expressly mentioned. Students will also have the option of 10,00 euro meals in several restaurants affiliated with the summer school, within the City of Gassino Torinese.

Subscription
The registration process takes place in two phases. By March 31, 2016 applicants are requested to send a PDF file (four A4, landscape) including a CV and a presentation of their work, included the following mandatory information: name, surname, date of birth, educational background, email address, home address, phone number, Skype contact. The file must be sent to summerschool@comune.gassino.to.it and must be named “name_surname.pdf”. The maximum file size is 10 MB. Candidates will be notified of the scientific committee’s list by April 15, 2016. The first 25 applicants will be required to confirm their registration no later than May 1, 2016 by paying the entire registration fee (500 euros).

Cancellation
Following registration, the participants who communicate their inability to attend the summer school are entitled to the following refunds:

• if the communication takes place by May 15, 2016, the participant is entitled to a total refund reduced by 1/4 (350 euros); then a new list will be communicated to all applicants, with the possibility of a delayed subscription;
• cancellations received after May 15, 2016 are not eligible for reimbursement.

Payment
Payment must be made by bank transfer to:
Associazione Per l’Architettura della Città
Bank Name: UniCredit Spa
Agency: Gassino Torinese
IBAN: IT93O0200830510000103502404
BIC: UNCRITM1DC2
Reason: Summer School 2016.

Responsibility
Associazione Per l’Architettura della Città, the City of Gassino Torinese, organizers, tutors, assistants, lecturers and critics are not responsible for any theft, loss, damage or accidents that may occur during the course of the Summer School or during the tours.

Treatment of personal data
Associazione Per l’Architettura della Città ensures the protection of personal data pursuant to Italian Legislative Decree (DLgs) 196/03.

Results of the workshop
The works produced during the summer school by the participants will be gathered in a final exhibition where the authorship of each project will be clearly indicated. The works of the participants will be published in a book or a special issue of a specialist journal that will display the cultural path followed and the projects realized during the summer school.

Certificate
At the end of the summer school, during the closing ceremony on July, 30 every participant will receive a certificate signed by organizers and critics who will attend the closing ceremony. At the request of participants, the organization may issue a further certificate with the amount of hours of classroom teaching followed and the hours devoted to the project: this certificate will be presented to the Universities for the possible allocation of credits (CFU) or to Architect Associations to obtain professional formative credits (CFP).

Info and subscription
summerschool@comune.gassino.to.it
Download the Summer School Guide
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