2020

Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio, tells the story of a group of young people that escaped Florence during the black plague, taking refuge together in the countryside of Tuscany. For Boccaccio, the suspended time given by the plague and the condition of isolation provides the literary expedient for a moment of general rethinking. As the stories of the protagonists follow one another, the images, relational structures and values of society that would otherwise be lost are reconstructed. Similarly, the workshop is at the center of this global epidemic that we are experiencing within the same landscape.

These days architecture schools are trying to figure out how to conduct lectures and seminars, studios and crits online. But it is just as well a test of the very foundations of architectural education. Do we need architecture schools? Do we need them to change? Are they capable of change, to prepare to deal with this crisis and the next to come?

How do we define “home”? Although our ideas about home are constantly being rethought, the careful examination of “home” has recently come to our attention for architects and nonarchitects alike. Almost everyone has had to confront their perspective of “home” as they have adapted workplaces, social gatherings, fitness routines, and everyday life. We now not only internalize a home, but look at how our homes digitally connect to the rest of the world.

«Coziness Valley» is an open international architectural competition focused on Coziness valley park area development.

Mobile Architecture and new ways to inhabit the territory is an International Design Summer School that explores the theme of minimal and mobile architecture as a tool to define new ways of living and reactivating the spaces of uncertainty that characterize contemporary society: those in a state of abandonment and peripherals, those affected by emergency situations, those linked to new social needs and those in which the scarcity of services avoids the enhancement of the landscape and the environment.

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BLANK SPACE is pleased to present a special exhibition of works by designer and artist Hayoun Won which directly responds to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Moments of Silence, pictured above, is a multimedia installation and series of printed works which offer a memorial space for the victims across the globe. Also included are a number of both digital and hand drawn design works which seek to expand the reach of design in relation to social issues.

COVID19 demonstrates the need for strong local economies and resilient solutions. Urban agriculture is a productive form of green infrastructure that supports local economies, creates jobs, improves access to healthy fresh food, and provides ecosystem services. GRHC brings together urban and rooftop agriculture experts to share the benefits and challenges of urban agriculture projects at its Urban Agriculture Symposium

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The exhibition SCREENS AND SIEVES is a journey through space and time.