New York seminar

FRESHLATINOSEMINAR emerging territories

October 2010 NY Ariadna Cantis + Eva Franch curators

If we accept that America was a laboratory for modern movement in an unequal and fragmented way, then what is the role of Iberian America today, within the panorama of emerging architecture and contemporary thinking?

Confronting ourselves with this question we came up with the idea to produce a manifesto that diagnoses the world’s architectonical situation within a different [ Iberian American] perspective and at the same time establish certain values that question the current directions within the architectural discourse and propose new projectual material and vectors of thought.

Pilar Echezarreta. Quelques m2 Ă Gonfler. Barcelona, Spain.

SEMINAR IN TWO ACTS We propose a two days seminar between October 25th and 27th divided in two acts aimed to be held in the following institutions. Simultaneously with the FRESHLATINO video installation exhibition.

ACT 1 25 OCT

ACT 2 27 OCT

Opening

Temporal. Pezo von Ellrichshausen. Concepci贸n, Chile.

SEMINAR NY

EMERGING LATIN TERRITORIES The seminar intends to be a declaration of strategies and visions to understand and project a new approach towards the construction of our built environment from a Latin-American perspective within a global world.

In order to operate with different degrees of intensity within this larger framework, the conversations will be structured in 2 different sessions with the aim to envision through different lenses multiple processes of observation and projection of our built environment.

1/ Material and Sensorial - Urban Territories 2/ Environmental - Geopolitical Territories The conversations will take place in a twofold strategy where three individuals will present a 15 minute manifesto for an Emerging Latin Territory followed by a discussion between them orchestrated by a moderator. There will be 5 presentations per session.

SEMINAR NY

FORMAT 2 sessions of 90 minutes each + debates 12 presentations of 15 min = 180 minutes 6 speakers per day = summing 12 speakers

SEMINAR NY SCALES 1 Urban Territories & Sensorial Qualities Iberian American sensibilities The architectural Sensorium: Colours/ Textures/ Sounds New Urban models from Brasilia to urban Acupunctures Community Models

2

Geopolitical Territories & Environmental Sensibilities Emerging Notions of Sustainability: Closed systems, Ecology, Energy etc.

The Architectures of Revolution Border Architectures Third Conditions

POSITIONS 1/ Continuity - Opposition 2/ Occupation - Revolution

Guerrilha Urbana. Bijari Group. S達o Paulo, Brazil.

SEMINAR NY

SUGGESTED GUESTS

SPEAKERS

October 25th

Urban Territories & Sensorial Qualities

Christina Goberna Javier Iturralde Pablo Lorenzo Eiroa Joaquin Moreno

Presenter: Ariadna Cantis

Leonardo Diaz Borrioli

Moderators:

Andres Jaque

Eva Franch and Ariadna Cantis

SEMINAR NY

October 27th

SPEAKERS

Geopolitical Territories & Environmental Sensibilities

Ximena Labra Jose Castillo Francisca Benitez Andres Jaque

Presenter: Eva Franch

Urtzi Grau

Moderators:

Carlos Brillembourg

Eva Franch and Ariadna Cantis

Felipe Arturo. Rueda. Méjico DF, Méjico.

FRESHLATINO

FRESHLATINO is a project that uses video installation to explore the work of fourteen practices from Ibero-America: from small-scale architectural structures to projects that integrate contemporary art, performance and architecture and even cross the boundaries into other disciplines. They present a new approach to the complexities of the contemporary city through interventions in public spaces.

Ibero-America is neither a natural concept, nor geographically continuous. In its essence lie historical and cultural ties of great significance. It is a community formed by Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries from Europe and Latin America, in total, 22 states with 600 million inhabitants whose common origins result in endless forms of living, a transcontinental community of great depth and richness.

The process of discovering, understanding and explaining the phenomenon of emerging Ibero-American architecture is an exciting journey, for this architecture is essentially a heterogeneous and diverse group that identifies its similarities by interpreting contemporary culture. To go about absorbing work by this group of young people is in itself a unique lesson on how to start up a professional practice: they work individually, in pairs, or by forming teams of up to twelve people. Thanks to modern communication technologies, they have managed to overcome global distances whilst at the same time remaining isolated from the everyday events in their immediate surroundings.

FRESHLATINO is a documentary platform which creates links between both sides of the Atlantic, re-sketching a new cultural geography, a new map. The continual economic and political crises in Latin America are reflected in the architectural projects, since there is a clear interaction between politics and creativity, the economy and urbanisation within the city. Ariadna Cantis, curator.

FRESHLATINO

In our current generation, the role of the illustrious “top architect” has given way to the “people’s professional”; closer to the grass-roots end-user, employing both research and a fair amount of experimentation in his or her methods. What sets this new breed of architect apart is that they incorporate approaches from the fields of sociology, politics, anthropology, economy, and ecology, thereby broadening and transcending the professional limits of what can be expected from the contemporary Ibero-American multidisciplinary professional.

For this generation, architecture is no longer about objects, but rather working systems. Their major concerns are: a low budget, the basic requirements, social and political concerns, mobility, temporality, and conceptual subversion. They draw from a wide scope of possibilities: from temporary interiors to small-scale projects, and from installation to performance.

Indeed, the physical evidence exists, as many generate immediate experiences, emerge new patterns and formulas, operate on the border of design, fashion, furniture, urban action or installation.

Young architects approach city and site research in a wholly different way.

This platform may be used to create a network for the exchange of information and to stimulate cooperation for the development of alternative projects, focusing on the understanding and promotion of Latin America, Spain and Portugal, centred around the strategic use of new technologies, the exploration of emerging systems in biodiversity and transversal thinking that strive to define and put into practice contemporary Ibero-American identity. Ariadna Cantis, curator.

FRESHLATINO FRESHLATINO is video installation of a series of presentations made by artists, emerging Iberian American architects, sociologists and historians.

SUBJECT Exhibition of a selection of 14 videos made by emerging architecture studios.

FORMAT A DVD audiovisual format in order to facilitates the tour. The video is made of digital photos and webcam videos.

GRAFICS The installation will de accompanied by an introductory text translated into each country’s language, a credits panel, exterior banners and a folder.

SOUND A sound collage containing different countries music and also radio noises, television and Iberian American cinema inserts.

Entrada de EmergĂŞncia. Pedro Bandeira, Bienal de SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil.

SEMINAR NY

ARIADNA CANTIS Curator

Architect, graduated at ETSAM. Her work focuses on the communication and dissemination of urban planning and architecture. Divides herself between the promotion, research and commissioning of architecture and contemporary culture engaging herself in various projects, exhibitions and publications, in order to generate a critical dialogue on the limits of architecture.

Is correspondent for the publishing house ACTAR and the magazine A10. Since 2000 is the curator of the research program Panorama and the commissioner for the 2006’s FRESHMADRID and FRESHFORWORD exchange platforms.

Since 2009 is the curator of the project FRESHLATINO a platform to promote Iberian American architecture sponsored

by Instituto Cervantes. In collaboration with Andres Jaque developed in 2008 the project PIENSA MADRID held in the Casa Encendida. Is also Commissioner of Mataderolab. Nominated expert for the Mies der Rohe Award 2009, member of the jury of the AEPD Awards and member of the scientific comity of Festival eme3. Has participated in numerous exhibitions, conferences, and seminars in: Buenos Aires, Brussels, BogotĂĄ, Barcelona, Sao Paulo, New York, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Porto, Bucharest among others.

SEMINAR NY

EVA FRANCH Curator

Architect, graduated from ETSAB and Princeton University. Has been recently named as the new director of Storefront for Art and Architecture in New York. Eva Franch is a practicing architect a professor and a researcher. She is the founder of OOAA (Office of Architectural Affairs), has lectured at the University of Buffalo as the Peter Reyner Banham Fellow (2007 - 2008) and also at the Rice University as the Wortham Fellow. Where she has been the director of the Master Thesis Studio Program (2008 - 2010).

Her work draws on sensorial archaeologies of cultural, political, social, technological and formal realms in addressing the contemporary need for change. Her research in architecture focuses in ideological, cultural and formal disruptions through “architectural doubts” in three operative fields: utopias (historic-politic), metaphors (cognitive-formal) and atmospheres (experiential).Currently she is working on two manuscripts “Ecologies of Excess” and “Atmsopheres of Utopia” and editing a forthcoming book for Rice University “Guide to Thinking and Doing an Architectural Thesis”.

Franch has lectured, published and exhibited internationally and has received numerous awards.

AndrĂŠs Jaque. Technogueisha. Madrid, Spain.

SEMINAR NY CONTACT SHEET

Eva Franch

efg@storefrontnews.org

STOREFRONT

Ariadna Cantis

ariadna@ariadnacantis.com

Estudio Ariadna Cantis

Instituto Cervantes

cultny@cervantes.org

Imagen portada Husos, Casa-Taller Croquis. Edificio JardĂ­n Hospedero y NectarĂ­fero para Mariposas de Cali. Colombia.