AA Visiting School to Patagonia
January 5–14, 2022
In the context of the current climate crisis and environmental breakdown, the 2022 AA Visiting School to Santiago will explore future scenarios for the Chilean Patagonia, assuming that it will undergo a process of rapid urbanization and increasing disputes over its resources and potentials. The programme will take place at the Catholic University’s research station in Explorers Bay, a 5,079-hectare site in the Aysén Region. Close to the General Carrera Lake and the Northern Patagonian Ice Field, this station is run by the Faculty of Geography and Political Science, within an interdisciplinary effort that includes the Faculties of Biological Sciences, Agronomy, and Architecture at PUC.
In collaboration with the School of Architecture at the Catholic University in Chile, the Visiting Programme will be travelling from Santiago to Puerto Montt and then to Quellón. From there it will start a maritime journey through the fjords, passing through Puerto Chacabuco, Coyhaique, Puerto Tranquilo, and finally Bahía Exploradores, including further boat excursions to the San Rafael lagoon.
The course will investigate Patagonia’s strategic position within the “water hemisphere” of Earth, the southern hemisphere being approximately 89 percent water (and holding only about one-fifth of the world’s land). The understanding of Patagonia as a water territory (maritorio), goes along with the relative scarcity of land that shall characterize the design of our proposals for future settlements and architecture in the region. The ten-day workshop will look at two scales. On the one hand, it will discuss the larger ecological context of the Patagonian fjords and the region’s water futures, while on the other hand it will explore the design of dwellings that could be set on water, floating and navigating the fjords, taking into account sustainability constraints.
This workshop is the first in a series of three enquiries on the water futures of southern Chile, including Navarino Island (2023) and the Darwin’s Trail in Chiloé (2024).
Programme’s head: Pedro Ignacio Alonso (pedro.alonso [at] aaschool.ac.uk)
Tutors: Francisco Chateau, Victoria Alonso, Germán Guzmán
Advisors: Alejandro Salazar, Braulio Morera
Applications:
You can make an application by completing the online application found on this webpage. If you are not able to make an online application, please contact the Visiting School Office for instructions to pay by bank transfer or by telephone.
Once you complete the online application and make a full payment, you are registered onto the programme. Please note that a deposit payment holds your place on the course but does not confirm it. A CV or a portfolio is not required.
Eligibility: The workshop is open to current architecture and design students, PhD candidates and young professionals. Software requirements: Adobe Creative Suite, Rhino (SR7 or later). The maximun capacity of this workshops is 15 student places, capacity of the research station in Patagonia.
Fees: The AA Visiting School requires a fee of 1350 GBP/ 1,905 USD* per participant, which includes a 60 GBP digital membership fee, payable by all participants.
*Applicants are required to pay the equivalent amount in GBP on the day of the payment. For exchange rates use xe.com. This fee covers travel, accommodation and food within Chile (Santiago–Patagonia–Santiago). It does not cover travel to Chile.
Visas: All participants travelling from abroad are responsible for securing any visa required, and are advised to contact their home embassy early. After full payment of course fees, the AA School can provide a letter confirming participation in the workshop.
Insurance: All participants are responsible for securing their own travel and health insurance. Please ensure that your travel insurance also covers your personal belongings i.e. laptop, equipment, tools, passport etc. The AA takes no responsibility for lost/ stolen property.
