Thessaloniki 2022 - International Workshop
Architecture and Film:
Inter-cultural Experiments with the Urban Space
The educational program is organized by the following universities:
· Aristotle University of Thessaloniki / Laboratory of History of Architecture and Cultural Heritage Management of the School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering
· Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi, Trabzon
· HFT-Stuttgart-Hochschule für Technik
It aims to cultivate the spirit of collaboration among students of architecture and teaching staff from different cultural backgrounds, to broaden the scientific horizon of the participants, to exchange ideas and contribute to the development of their skills and creativity. The issues of this collaboration are connected with local historical heritage and traditions, cultural and artistic dynamics, local culture and communities, traditions, know-how, craft and contemporary diversity and creativity. The program also aims to create prospects for wider scientific cooperation on environmental issues and on architectural heritage with emphasis on the common cultural bonds between the participating countries.
In the first phase (KUP|KURZPROJEKT), the program includes the organization of workshops hosted alternately by the three universities. In each workshop there are 36 students [12 from each university] participating, who collaborate in groups of 6 persons, 2 of each university. The second phase will include the promotion and creation of research programs on issues of environment and cultural heritage of the host countries. The following workshops will emphasize on new ways of perceiving and interpreting public space and the historical, architectural and social wealth of our cities.
Three workshops have already been completed with great success:
· The first one, which took place in Stuttgart, HFT - Hochschule für Technik (March 2019) titled: “Mobile Wall Partitions from reusable or packaging materials” -with proximity to the hosting university comparative advantages- promoted the design sector by the recycling of materials and sustainable practices.
· The second one took place in Trabzon and in Akçaabat / Karadeniz Technical University (October 2019) titled: “Craft and Space: Transformation of details, techniques and attributes of traditional Turkish handcraft and jewelry design into three-dimensional space” focused on local culture, traditions, know how, craft and contemporary diversity and creativity.
· The third one was hosted by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki / Laboratory of History of Architecture and Cultural Heritage Management of the School of Architecture, Faculty of Engineering and carried the title “Thessaloniki 2022 - International Workshop Architecture and Film: Inter-cultural Experiments with the Urban Space”. (October 2022).The theme of the workshop in Thessaloniki was related to the multicultural image of the city, its multi-layered architectural imprint, its traditions, diversities, lifestyles and the cultural activities it hosts. Among these activities, the annual international Film and Documentary Festivals play an important role. The 6 groups of the 36 participating students, after being informed about the history of the city, its traditions and also about cinematic techniques, created short movies based on the multicultural environment of a selected area of Thessaloniki, chosen for its rich local, historical and cultural character.
Thessaloniki’s workshop -hosted in a historic building of the investigated urban area, restored by local stakeholders, familiarized the participant students with field research, promoted social awareness about the urban environment, encouraged cultural and social dialogue, strengthened the sense of belonging and unveiled different meanings of the place. Students had the opportunity to experiment, discover the powerful cinematic expression by recording public memory, demographic realities and diversities, traditions, gaining new insights in historical heritage and urban issues and thus contribute to the spreading of cultural information by artistic dynamics.
Thesssaloniki’s workshop educational program used the international and inter-cultural cinematic language to bring young people of different countries together and helped them collaborate and investigate the urban environment in terms of a cross-cultural and inter-generational involvement with it, cultivating and regaining the sense of belonging.
