Domain Expert Guidance
Course Material
hotels
The Architecture Experience – Europe takes the participants on a journey spanning Spain and Italy, where they get to see architecture from the colonial era all the way to the modern era, and get to understand more about contextualising architecture. Understanding how the sites in Europe utilise existing infrastructure for new purposes, be it cafes or hotels or museums. The sites will range from Gaudi to Zaha Hadid, and the influence of art and design from Baroque to Renaissance to Art Nouveau to modern and contemporary.
Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona
Image on top – Bosco Verticale, Milan
16
days
20
participants
4
cities
What is The Architecture Experience - Europe?
The best approach to growing as an architect is to learn from experiencing and observing. The Architecture Experience aims to do just that. Participants get to observe contextualising architecture, through site visits and interactions with local architects, and document the learning in a themed narrative for later referencing. The Experience will be a sixteen day long curated educational tour for up to twenty participants, across 4 cities in Spain and Italy.
These visits will focus on observing and learning about the importance of contextualising architecture, different architectural techniques – active and passive, importance of design, aspects vital to sustainability and other aspects which draw scores of visitors to European architecture. The visits will foster a deep understanding of city planning, old architecture and its conversion to new, mobility driven infrastructure, while working on a documentation project across different themes.
Itinerary
In the 16 days, participants will get to work on their own project in sync with their work, or their subjects in college. These projects will be relevant for different Indian landscapes (be it urban or rural), with inspiration taken from places visited during this Experience.
Casa Mila by Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona
Barcelona
Day 1
Morning arrival in Barcelona, Spain.
Orientation on the structure of the tour visits and project. Finalisation of teams, and the participants’ individual roles and responsibilities within the team will be defined.
Topic of Discussion: Understanding Barcelona’s Historic Layer.
Places to visit: Gothic Quarter, Carrer de Montcada & La Rambla, Santa Caterina Market, Palau de la Música Catalana, Old Hospital de la Santa Creu.
Day 2
Topics of discussion: Catalan Modernism, Art Nouveau architecture.
Places to visit: Casa Sayrach, Casa Enric Llorens, Mas de Miquel, Frederic Vallet, Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, Mercat Fira de Bellcaire Els Encants, La Barceloneta.
Day 3
Topics of discussion: Contemporary architecture, Barcelona city grid design.
Places to visit: El Pabellón de Barcelona (Mies van der Rohe), Caixa Forum, Agbar Tower & Design Museum of Barcelona – Jean Nouvel, Spiraling tower by Zaha Hadid (under construction), Bunkers del Carmel.
Milan
Day 4
Morning arrival in Milan, Italy.
Topics of discussion: Historic architecture in Milan.
Places to visit: Museo Del Duomo, Museo Del NoveCento Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, Castello Sforzesco – Museo of Michelangelo’s Pieta’ Rondanini, Teatro alla Scala, Santa Maria presso San Satiro, Colonne di San Lorenzo, Navigli Area.
Day 5
Topics of discussion: Italian Modernsim.
Places to visit: Gallaratese Quarter (Aldo Rossi & Carlo Aymonino), Politecnico di Milano, Pirelli Tower (Gio Ponti), Torre Velasca (BBPR), Casa Gio Ponti, Casa Rustici (Giuseppe Terragni).
Day 6/7
Topics of discussion: The new Milan and its historical context (from Garibaldi to Isola).
Places to visit: Bosco Verticale, (Stefano Boeri), Casa della Memoria, CityLife (Zaha Hadid), The Curved One (Daniel Libiskind), Allianz Tower (Arata Isozaki), Bocconi University, Fondazione Prada, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.
Venice
Day 8
Morning arrival in Venice.
Topics of discussion: Conversation on the historical ties and the contemporary additions.
Places to visit: Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Ponte di Rialto, Negozio Olivetti, il Fondaco Dei Tedeschi.
Day 9
Topics of discussion: Use of water as a mode of transport.
Places to visit: Tour to the Islands of Burano, Murano & Isola San Michele (Cemetery designed by David Chipperfield), Arsenale – Biennale Area, IUAV University of Venice.
Day 10
Topics of discussion: Influence of Renaissance architecture (Palladio).
Places to visit: Chiesa del Santissimo Redentore, Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Presentazione (Le Zitelle), Residential buildings by Cino Zucchi and Boris Podrecca.
Rome/Firenze
Day 11/12
Morning arrival in Rome.
Topics of discussion: Understanding Rome’s Historic Layer.
Places to visit: Piazza del Campidoglio, Restoration work at Mercati Traiano, Fori Imperiali, The Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi.
Day 13
Topics of discussion: Influence of Baroque architecture – Bernini vs Borromini.
Places to visit: Church of Santa Susanna, San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Chiesa di Sant’Andrea al Quirinale, Santa Maria dei Sette Dolori, Villa Borghese, Casa Il Girasole (Luigi Moretti).
Day 14
Topics of discussion: New age architecture.
Places to visit: Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, Centrale Montemartini, Maxxi Museum (Zaha Hadid).
Day 15
Day trip to Firenze.
Topics of discussion: Innovation in efficient construction.
Places to visit: David Fisher studio, Firenze University, walk around city center.
Day 16
Morning arrival in Barcelona.
Culmination of the tour, free day.
Departure to India.
Days 7, 11 and 16 are free days for the participants to explore the cities. Day 15 may be a free day in Rome due to non availability of architects in Firenze.
Upcoming batches
Summer of 2022
How Much Does It Cost?
INR 184,000
The prices are ex-India. To know more on the pricing from your country, please reach out to us through the contact form at the bottom of this page.
What does the cost include?
flights
visas
Insurance
local & airport transfers
BREAKFAST & DINNER
ENTRY FEES
Our Partners
People
Testimonials
Visiting structures and then interacting with their architects helped understanding the structures in detail. I got to understand more about vernacular architecture, and understanding different ways on how to plan services. My design subject case study is to design a high rise structure, for which this trip helped (particularly the Tropical Space studio visit). The use of materials by Tropical Space gave an understanding of sustainable architecture, rain water harvesting, double room systems, usage of low cost and sustainable material like bamboo. This trip also gives me different approaches towards the subjects. We even interacted with 1+1>2 architecture studio to look at an exchange program with our college. Meeting people from different parts of India was fun and I had a great time with all of them. Mohor did a real good job. Overall it was a good learning experience.
Nimit Patni
4th Year, L.S. Raheja School of Architecture, Mumbai
(Participant, Vietnam July 2019)
(Participant, Vietnam July 2019)
Studio and site visits were very well organised but what I loved the most were the interactive sessions that we had with various artists and architects in Sri Lanka. Conversations with them were an extremely enriching experience. I got a better understanding in material selection, and the integration of nature in the landscape was eye opening. Prithy and Kshitija curated the experience extremely well and I got to learn a lot from them. About the places as well as the field in general. It was a great experience altogether! Very well planned especially keeping in mind the fact that we were here for a decent number of days and have almost covered everything ranging from the historic places to the modern ones. This trip was worth the money and will definitely influence my design in the future.
Shhrruti Jain
Architect
(Participant, Sri Lanka October 2019)
(Participant, Sri Lanka October 2019)
The overall experience was excellent. In all the places we visited, the learning experience was highly intuitive. The credits for that could be given to the technological advancements in Singapore, and also to the amazing people who accompanied us on this trip. We got to dive into the Urban development and housing aspects of Singapore. My experience with Reena was amazing. She helped and guided us about everything, and helped us in understanding all the aspects. All the experiences were actually very well integrated, and they complimented each other. So personally, I liked the entire experience. Definitely a 10 on 10!
Krashang Goswami
4th Year, DIT Dehradun
(Participant, Singapore December 2019)
(Participant, Singapore December 2019)
Sustainable Development Goals
All our Experiences are aimed at implementing and solving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals set by the UN. Goal no. 17 ‘Partnerships for the Goals’ is key to our Experiences, since we work with a global team of experts to be able to add value to the learning of the participants. The Architecture Experience Europe focuses on 3 of the Goals primarily.
Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
– Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being.
Goal 11: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
– By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing
– By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement
– By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters
Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
– By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
– Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production
FAQs
– Students and fresh graduates from architecture colleges and related fields
– Young professionals from architecture, design and related fields who want to explore Contextualising architecture in Europe (Spain & Italy)
Young architects from India could benefit exponentially from observing architecture from the colonial era all the way to the modern era, and getting to understand more about contextualising architecture. Understanding how the sites in Europe utilise existing infrastructure for new purposes, be it cafes or hotels or museums. How the planning in the cities visited is mobility driven. Learnings from this trip can be applied to the participants’ methodologies when working on sites/projects in India.
Yes! This Experience will take up to 20 participants. These participants will be split into smaller teams to execute projects which are designed to give added value to their ongoing projects (school or live).
The Architecture Experience is designed with the intent of enhancing architectural understanding. To this end, a short project is included as part of the experience. The participants will explore methods of observation and documentation while focusing on ideologies of Contextualising Architecture.
This Experience will focus on observing and learning about the importance of site sensitivity, different architectural techniques – active and passive, importance of material selection and other aspects vital to sustainable architecture, which are important tenets of contemporary and new age architecture, be it urban or non urban.
Yes! From a logistics point of view, this price includes the cost of accommodation, flights, visas, breakfast and dinner, local and airport transfers, and entry fees where applicable.
“
A building can only be understood by moving around and through it, and by experiencing the modulation, and feel the spaces one moves through - from outside into verandah, then rooms, passages, courtyards. Architecture cannot be totally explained but must be experienced."
Geoffrey Bawa
Contact Us
Maxxi Museum by Zaha Hadid, Rome
If you’d like to know more about The Architecture Experience – Europe, please fill out this form, and one of us llamas will get back to you shortly.