Informal Cities Workshop announced

The Sam Fox School’s annual Informal Cities Workshop will be held this October. The workshop begins with a keynote lecture by Elisa Silva, founder of Enlace Arquitectura and associate professor at Florida International University. The free public lecture will be held in Steinberg Auditorium on Friday, October 18, at 5:30 p.m.

Silva’s professional practice and research encompasses architecture, landscape architecture, and urban design emphasizing engaging communities through design and culture. Informed by Enlace’s extensive engagement in Venezuela, this year’s workshop will focus on a site in Siquisique, Venezuela, that is at the intersection of cultural heritage and self-built communities.

Since its initial run in 2014, the Informal Cities Workshop has provided students with intensive, hands-on opportunities to examine self-built cities with designers and practitioners actively working in this field. This one-credit, weekend-long design charrette encourages students to grapple with frictions and interconnections found within the city and develop architectural responses informed by on-the-ground circumstances. Previous workshops have explored cities in India, Peru, and South Africa, among others.

Students can register for the workshop by emailing Matt Bernstine.

The workshop is supported by the Sam Fox School.