Ilustrācija — Evelīna Ozola

Riga Technical University International Summer School «Get Well City» invites to public lectures on July 28–29 and closing events on August 8. Lecturers include authors of design projects «En–Rooters» and «Long Walk» Marta Kāle and Rihards Funts, Polish architect and urbanist Błażej Czuba, as well as founders of British architecture practice «Something & Son».

Editorial Editorial July 22, 2014

The Summer School for architects, urbanists and designers that FOLD organises in collaboration with Riga Technical University, will take place in Cesis for the third year in turn, this time exploring healthy lifestyles, hydrotherapy traditions and active recreation. 30 participants in 3 different workshops will try to find out if living in a small town is healthier than living in a metropolis. Results of the research and the ideas created will materialise in several spatial installations and a printed publication.

Within two weeks, from July 26 to August 9, the participants will go through a complete project cycle — from first sketches to visual communication of complex data, construction of spatial structures in public domain and seeing their work being tested by the users. As usual, the lecture programme with talks by international and local speakers, as well as project presentations by the participants will be open to the public.

During the Summer School, authors of two very interesting Latvian design projects are going to visit Cēsis: Marta Kāle will give a talk about the social design project «En–Rooters», which brings seniors and juniors together in gardening, but Rihards Funts will reveal how his belief that public space design can improve the quality of life of urban dwellers has come to life in the «Gymnasium» and «Long Walk» projects.

Błażej Czuba, a young Polish architect and urbanist from London, will give a lecture on the dichotomy between the congested city and idyllic country life, which has inspired some of the most important movements of 20th century urban planning. Partners at the British design practice «Something & Son» Andrew Merritt and Paul Smyth will tell how they built an urban farm «FARM:shop» in a derelict shop in Dalston to grow vegetables, chicken and fish in the middle of a metropolis, as well as about their work on a pop–up spa centre in London’s eastern borough of Barking.

Public lectures

Rucka Art and Residency Centre at Piebalgas iela 19, in English, free entrance.

July 28

16.30 Marta Kāle — social design project «En–Rooters»
17.45 Błażej Czuba — «Smoke of the city and idyllic country life»

July 29

16.30 Rihards Funts — public space design project «Long Walk»
17.45 Andrew Merritt, Paul Smyth — architecture practice «Something & Son»

Final presentations, opening of the installations

Rucka Art and Residency Centre at Piebalgas iela 19, in English, free entrance.

August 8

15.00 Project presentations
20.00 Opening of installations in Rucka park and elsewhere in Cesis public space

 

Organisers

FOLD in collaboration with Riga Technical University.

Supporters

State Culture Capital Foundation, State Education Development Agency, Cesis Local Municipality, «Rotho Blaas», «Remember Brothers», «Antalis», «ITA Ltd», «Valmiermuižas alus», «Ķelmēni», «MONU».

 

Work of previous editions of Riga Technical University International Summer School can be viewed on its website.