Architectural and urban design education is increasingly confronted with finite resources, planetary boundaries, and layered socio‑material transformations. This seminar proposes a collective reflection on how design teaching can engage more directly with the realities of place, existing material stocks, and forms of making that do not rely on continuous extraction.
Building on the site‑specific approaches of Atelier Wo‑Land and the everyday spatial observations developed within Atelier Bow‑Wow, the event considers how fieldwork, close reading of context, and incremental interventions can strengthen the connection between design practice, land, and the already‑there. Particular attention is given to methods that foreground territorial interpretation, material reuse, and the “inner rhythms” of everyday life.
Hosted by iiTSE (ULB Brussels), the seminar brings these questions into a shared discussion format. A presentation by Yoshiharu Tsukamoto will introduce the work of Atelier Wo‑Land as a point of departure, followed by a round‑table exploring how such approaches might inform architectural and urban pedagogy across scales, from territorial frameworks to spatial detail.
Program Overview
13:30–14:00 – Coffee & Informal Networking
14:00–14:45 – Presentation of Atelier Wo-Land by invited speaker Yoshiharu Tsukamoto
14:45–16:00 – Round-table discussions on key themes
16:00–16:30 – Wrap-up & Drinks
Invited contributors to the round table
Geoffrey Grulois – LOUISE, La Cambre Horta, ULB
Andrea Bortolotti – Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano
Organised by
Giulia Caterina Verga – Organiser & Moderator, SUFI, École Polytechnique, ULB (iiTSE member)
Hera Van Sande – Organiser, VUB & KUL
Geoffrey Grulois – Organiser, La Cambre Horta, ULB (iiTSE member)
Samia Ben Rajab – Organiser, École Polytechnique, ULB (iiTSE member)
Andrea Bortolotti – Organiser & Moderator, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano
Ahmed Zaib Khan – Organiser, École Polytechnique, ULB (iiTSE member)
Camilo Paez – Organiser, École Polytechnique, ULB (iiTSE member)