An exhibition, a book and a website
June 25–July 18, 2021
Projects Review is the annual end-of-year show at the Architectural Association (AA), which takes the form of an exhibition, book and website, celebrating projects from every student and their achievements throughout the academic year. During 2020–21, our entire community, like the rest of the world, has been confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which challenged us to rethink approaches, rework agendas and revisit methodologies in response to constantly changing circumstances. This impetus to “think again” reaches far beyond the AA, encompassing buildings, cities, environments and ways of life, and has highlighted an urgent call to reinvent how we might practice, to reimagine how we may live more sustainably, to reshape cities as more equitable and democratic spaces, and perhaps most importantly to safely reconnect in socially engaging ways. Central to these agendas is the consideration of how we may better relate to each other, and in response to this, projects across the AA have explored themes of collaboration, mutual support and community as architectural interpretations of care.
Reflecting on these ambitions, the theme for Projects Review 2021 is “Re”—a prefix that typically means to “do again”—which aims to pose a new set of questions for the discipline in order to instigate visions of how we might do things differently as we look into the future. With this in mind, each unit and programme at the school has chosen a word prefixed with “Re” that corresponds with their brief this year and the material on display explores these terms through a variety of media.
For the first time, the Projects Review 2021 exhibition takes place both online and in-person and is accessible to audiences worldwide. Short films produced by each unit and programme that encapsulate their thematic word and the work that has emerged throughout the year are viewable on a large outdoor screen on the corner of Bedford Square in London. Additionally, an interactive web portal and augmented reality experience, designed by the AA alumni-run studio Cream Projects in collaboration with developers Akinsola Lawanson and Támas Páll, encompasses contributions from every unit and programme as a collection of geolocated artefacts, placed around Bedford Square. Including 60 totemic objects, this is the largest web-based AR exhibition to ever be held.
The Projects Review 2021 website, which launched on Friday, June 25, showcases a comprehensive catalogue of student work from all programmes across the school and includes images, project descriptions and videos of student work, as well as an online screening room for the exhibition films and access to the augmented reality objects.
The AA Book 2021 is a celebration of the exceptional achievements of students at the school throughout the 2020–21 academic year. The book has been published first as an ebook on July 25, and will be followed by a printed version later in the year, offering different options to view the work in either digital or physical form no matter where you are in the world.
Through film, augmented reality, a website and a publication the AA disseminates the work produced this year at the school as part of Projects Review 2021, aiming to generate discussion, provoke debate and ask questions that hopefully result in a better future.
Website development: Joseph Pleass
Interactive web portal and augmented reality experience: design by Cream Projects, web development by Akinsola Lawanson, geolocated AR development by Támas Pàll
With thanks to the many individuals, units, programmes and departments within the AA for their collective effort in realising Projects Review 2021.
