PEDAGOGY
Monday 18 March 2024 6.30 pm
Handcrafting Digital Transition – Superonda Talk n°2
This second event of the Superonda lecture series, organised by Laboratoire LAPIS under the direction of Prof. Nicola Braghieri, will adress the issue of pedagogy. More specifically, in what ways can architectural education be enriched by a situated application of handcraft techniques?
BIOGRAPHIES
Rural Studio – Through three decades of hands-on, place-based teaching and learning, Rural Studio is regarded as one of the oldest, most influential, and well-respected design-build programs in the world. The Studio is located in Hale County, Alabama, and led by Professor and Director Andrew Freear. As part of the School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture at Auburn University, the core mission of Rural Studio is the education of architecture students who live on site and design and build structures for residents and communities in the under-resourced rural region known as the Black Belt. Rural Studio has educated over 1,200 students who have designed and built more than 220 projects. These projects are driven by research into efficient, healthful housing along with the vital community systems necessary to support sustainable rural living. Rural Studio continually questions what should be built, rather than simply what can be built.
Andrew Freear, from Yorkshire, England, is Director of Auburn University Rural Studio. Since 2000, Freear has lived in rural Newbern, Alabama, where he runs a program that questions the conventional education and role of architects. His students have designed and built more than 220 community buildings, homes, and parks in their under-resourced community. He is a teacher, designer, builder, advocate, and liaison between local authorities, partners, and students. Rural Studio’s work has been published extensively, and Freear regularly lectures around the world. He has designed and built exhibits at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum and MOMA in New York, as well as the Milan Triennale and the Venice Biennale. Freear was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, received the President’s Medal from the Architectural League of New York, and was elected to the National Academy of Design. Most recently, Freear was honored with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Architecture.
Elena Barthel is graduated in architecture (University of Florence 2000), member of the Institute of Architects of Florence (2001) and PhD at the Department of Urban Planning (University of Florence 2010). She taught Urban Design Thesis Studio at the Florence School of Architecture Planning Department (2001-8), Architecture Design Studio at the Architectural Association in London (2006-8), Design and Build Studio at Rural Studio Auburn University School of Architecture (2008-16), Hand drawing Studio at Rural Studio Auburn University School of Architecture (2010-2020).