School of Architecture Report – Third International Utzon Symposium – Marrakech
Posted on 07. Feb, 2013 by admin in Architecture, Art Design and Media, Creative and Cultural Industries, Creative Arts Film and Media, Creative Technologies
The Third International Utzon Symposium was held in the Palace el Bacha, Marrakech, Morocco in 2012. Organised as a collaboration between the Jørn Utzon Research Network (JURN), the Utzon Research Center (Aalborg, Denmark) and l’Ecole Nationale d’Architecture (Rabat, Morocco) the event was followed by a week-long Utzon Workshop, for academics, students and practitioners.
The Symposium and Workshop were led by Juhani Pallasmaa, Architect, writer and theorist from Helsinki, Finland, Jan Utzon, Jørn Utzon’s son, and Richard Leplastrier, an Australian Architect, AIA Gold Medallist and former employee of Utzon.
‘Utzon’s Paradigm’ was the theme of the Symposium and provided the first public forum for discussion regarding the paradigmatic framework developed by JURN for the interrogation of Utzon’s canon of work and his design methodology.
Some seventy students, academics and practitioners attended the Symposium from such diverse locations as South Africa, Tasmania, mainland Australia, Denmark, France and the UK. In addition to presentations from our keynote speakers, presentations were made by Adrian Carter (Associate Professor, University of Aalborg and Co-Director JURN), Dr. Lars Botin (Associate Professor, University of Aalborg), Mathew Hinds and Poppy Taylor (Tasmanian practitioners and academics), John Roberts (Lecturer, University of Newcastle, NSW, Australia) and from University of Portsmouth School of Architecture, Nicola Crowson (Senior Lecturer and JURN Steering Group Member) and Roger Tyrrell (Principal Lecturer and Co-Director JURN).
The Symposium proceedings are to be published in July 2013 comprising transcripts of presentations and academic papers.
Fifty participants attended the Workshop that followed the Symposium, again, from a diverse range of geographical locations. Focused upon the concept of ‘The Beautiful Idea’ participants worked both in the context of Marrakech and later the High Atlas Mountain village of Ait Benhaddou, exploring the particular nature of place within these rich cultural contexts. In groups that were constituted by the organisers to reflect diversity in age, gender and experience, participants were asked to define and design a ‘Beautiful Idea’ that would capture the spirit of place.
Working collaboratively, a range of installations were designed, built and then presented, each of which captured and re-presented elements of a unique experience. That experience was reflected in participant feedback:
‘The Spring Workshop was a truly life changing and motivational experience that has reinforced my passion for architecture. The enthusiasm and energy of the tutors was inspirational.’
(Australian Student Participant)
‘As a participating observer at the JURN workshop I was impressed by the professionalism that characterized the preparation and conduction of the workshop. Everything had been carefully considered and all means had been taken in order to give the participants the best possible experience. Concerning the content of the symposium and workshop, this also exceeded any expectation that anyone might have. I am sorry not to be more helpful in my evaluation, but I can only say that It was a truly great experience that I will remember and return to in my thoughts for years.’
(Danish Academic Participant)
