AA VS Warsaw: Playful Cartographies | The Faculty of Architecture at the Gdańsk University of Technology

Climate Cartographies is committed to exploring the longue durée of climate change at heritage sites by deploying cartographic thinking to create new maps that capture unexplored relationships within our environment through different modes of representation. The program in Warsaw explores spaces of heritage as constructed worlds through gamification, not merely as neutral and passive archives of environmental changes. It examines the agency of these sites as contributors and agitators within the climate change discourse.

The site of Faras serves as a point of departure for the Polish archaeological excavations in Sudan in the early 1960s, as part of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia. The discovery of the cathedral and its vibrant wall paintings was celebrated from Khartoum to Warsaw, where they were relocated and became intertwined with narratives of nationalism.

The paintings also reveal the value assigned to these objects and the evolution of heritage discourse in relation to the infrastructure, both visible and invisible, that is required to maintain heritage. Drawing from sites of memory and sites of history, the participants are invited to collapse this divide whilst thinking about climate in different timelines and the different agents that contribute to its production.

KEY FEATURES OF THE WORKSHOP AND LEARNING GOALS

• To cultivate a critical understanding of the historical and theoretical debates relevant to climate change
• To develop a critical understanding of the nature of cultural heritage and the challenges that are posed on them by climate change
• To inspire students to gain confidence in their practice and explore new modes of design representations
• To engage in discussion around professional architecture practices that are involved in designing for heritage sites
• Seminars that are organized around the site of Faras, heritage discourse in Warsaw in the 1960s, and Game theory
• Technical workshop on using sound for spatial design
• A field trip to multiple heritage sites in Warsaw
• Submission of a final project and a notebook
• A public program that will enable more people to attend and engage with the discussions carried out at the school
• Studio visits to provide feedback to the participants

Fees

A non-refundable £60 deposit is required from all applicants upon application and will be deducted from the total fees below:

• £800 — Standard Programme Fee (including a 1-year AA Digital Membership worth £60)

• £740 — AA Member Fee

• £592 — AA Full-time Student Fee

• £689 — Fee for Full-time students of Melbourne University (including a 1-year AA Digital Membership worth £60)

Fees do not include flights, food or accommodation, but accommodation options can be advised. Students need to bring their own laptops, digital equipment and model making tools.

Scholarships

Partial scholarships will be available to students who previously participated in Visiting School Climate Cartographies. Please follow Scholarship Application process + email Visiting School Office stating what year you participated in the VS Climate Cartographies.

More information here