The University Is Now on Air

The Garagem Sul at Centro Cultural de Belém and the Canadian Centre for Architecture invite you to the Lisbon opening of The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture UK 1975-1982, curated by Joaquim Moreno. Coinciding with the opening event, the exhibition Moving Constructions: Films from the Architecture Archive of the gta / ETH Zurich, organized in cooperation with the gta Institute and curated by Andreas Kalpakci, Jacqueline Maurer and Daniela Ortiz dos Santos, will be inaugurated in parallel in the galleries.

Exhibition openings: February 19, 7pm

The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture UK 1975–1982
As current models of knowledge transfer are brought into question, one radical attempt at rethinking the mandate of higher education through mass media is under the lens. The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture examines a key experiment by The Open University to mobilize new media environments for distance and adult education.

The project offers a close reading of the course A305, History of Architecture and Design 1890–1939. This undergraduate arts course, offered by The Open University via television and radio broadcasts between 1975 and 1982, was a radical project for sharing knowledge through the convergence of mass media and mass education.

First presented at the CCA in Montreal in 2017, and curated by Joaquim Moreno, the exhibition, The University Is Now on Air: Broadcasting Modern Architecture will be on view in Lisbon, at the CCB–Garagem Sul from February 19 until May 26, 2019.

Moving Constructions: Films from the Architecture Archive of gta / ETH Zurich
Films in architectural collections tend to present a kind of discrepancy in that they are listed in the archival records but remain mostly absent from the construction of new historical narratives. Architectural history is predominantly based on “still” objects: writings, sketches, photographs, plans, and models. While films are reservoirs of knowledge and recollection, they are fragile materials that require special care and investment for their preservation and manipulation. As a result, moving images are often overlooked in architectural discourse.

In response to this condition, Moving Constructions presents a reversal of films’ relationship with architecture archives. This started with gta Films, the curatorial project at the Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture (gta) at ETH Zurich that contributed to the institute’s 50th anniversary in 2017 with an exhibition of fifteen films from its archives. These ranged from the 1930s to the 1990s, from construction recordings to city documentaries, and from amateur recordings to state television productions. Moving Constructions replays them now to call for the reappraisal of the filmic medium in architecture archives.

The exhibition opening is accompanied by a workshop on February 20th. Three public dialogues with participants from around Europe will explore questions about the interrelation of histories, films, and archives. See more information here: Moving Constructions Workshop.


About Garagem Sul
Garagem Sul is a space dedicated to architecture at Centro Cultural de Belém, a cultural venue in Lisbon known for its music, dance and theatre program. Housed in a former parking garage, Garagem Sul offers a unique atmosphere for the presentation of architectural works and ideas. Projects at the Garage seek to present a wide range of different positions through which architects might redefine their role in society, and interrogate new means of building our world.