AA Italy | Milan Visiting School | cyber-GARDENing the city

We grow food fast, we eat fast, we diet fast, or we could say: ‘we waste fast.’
What’s the future of food consumption, and what form will take the new urban landscape of food production?
Can we imagine environments of novel culinary exploration, engineered from the hybridization of traditional Italian practices, rites and festivals with contemporary digital design technologies, prototyping protocols and bio-gardening techniques?

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PROGRAMME DIRECTORS:
Claudia Pasquero
Marco Poletto

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BRIEF:
The teaching model of the LAB is grounded on the experimental tradition of the Architectural Association and on the design philosophy of ecoLogicStudio, that will curate the event and run the design workshop.

Set within the emergent bio-farming network on the outskirts of Milan (site to 2015World Expo), we will initiate our first productive atelier where we will embark in a series of “growing” experiments; inspired by the achievements of the Slow Food movement we will radicalize their efforts through the deliberate contamination of the traditional and the futuristic, the natural and the bioengineered.

Our ambition with AA Italy ‘cyber-GARDENing’ is to roam the country with the highest concentration of culinary traditions and manifest the possibilities of a radical interpretation as new global bio-lifestyles.The aspiring cyber-gardeners will be able to explore and invent new hybrid design practices by combining digital growth simulations with biological sensing, robotic actuation with hydroponic cultivation, and cutting edge rapid prototyping with traditional crochet. These bio-architectural playgrounds will materialize as 1:1 prototypical spaces, embedded with biological life, sensing and actuating potential, digital computational power and will be tested as part of the local urban farming network.

The 10 days workshop will be supported by a series of seminars, growing sessions with invited specialists and dedicated algorithmic modeling and prototyping tutorials.The workshop is open to current students, phd candidates and young professionals from the disciplines of architecture, urban, landscape, product and interaction design, biology, computer science, robotics; gardening enthusiasts are welcome.

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APPLY:
The deadline for applications is 10th June 2012. All participants traveling 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.

The AA Visiting School requires a fee of £695 per participant, which includes a £50 Visiting Student 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.

When more than one discount option is valid, the option with the highest discount percentage will be applied. For example, if a participant is applying before 01.02.2012 (early enrollment, 10%) as part of a group of people (group registration, 25%) , then the group registration discount (25%) will be applied.

more info on:

http://cybergardens.aaschool.ac.uk/