CONFORMING TO UNCONFORM
CONFORMING TO UNCONFORM Exchange to Accademia di architettura, Mendrisio, European Architects Students Assembly and Internship in Zurich. Joesph Crawley
"I wanted something radically different, something to kickstart and revive the passion"
In search of something new, an attempt to find an alternative architectural education, I found myself packing my bags just a few weeks prior to departing for Beijing, where I was headed to complete a semester’s exchange at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in China. At this point, I was entirely naive and unsure about the route I wanted to take in architecture. I was only using this as an excuse or reason to get as far away from Glasgow as possible. In hindsight, it was to prove to myself and others that I was capable of something so eccentric and extravagant, and a desperate attempt to escape the miseries and headaches of trying to absorb and learn architecture during a period of isolation due to the pandemic. From having a very disappointing education up until this point due to Covid-19, I wanted something radically different, something to kickstart and revive the passion that I once had for architecture. Within a day, my place at CAFA was cancelled due to the country's worsening conditions, and a few hours
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later, I found myself with a place at the Accademia di Architettura in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Unbeknown to me, I had just been accepted into one of the most notable and exciting architecture institutions in Europe and maybe the world, where I quickly realised, I would be closely surrounded by architects such as Shelly McNamara, Yvonne Farrell, Valerio Olgiati, Jonathan Sergison and Bijoy Jain to name a few. I had come to this newfound realisation of my naivety, in pure disbelief that this wasn't my original choice, to begin with. The prospect of practising architecture in the mountains of sunny Ticino was enough for me to complete any remaining exams and submissions as fast as I could and book the next one-way flight to Milano. My time at the AAM couldn't have been more successful in fulfilling my original motive of reviving my lost passion for architecture. I found myself in a situation learning more about what I don't like or appreciate as opposed to discovering new qualities in architecture. Albeit {93}