Michelangelo Buonarroti said ’I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free’. Through the use of material he could represent at least three immaterial substances: his subconscious, the negative mass surrounding the sculpture and a parallel world where material is forbidden. Has architects’ engagement with virtual space meant a vanishing sensitivity towards material and other immaterial realms?
The AA Rome Visiting School-10 day workshop encourages the observation of material elements and their use in the design of architecture featuring subconscious experiences, spatial voids and virtual communities. Students will investigate modern materials and their digital fabrication by direct experience. They will work with algorithms and sensors able to recognise and respond to human feelings and attitudes. Students will feed novel expressions of void spaces into the Roman tradition featuring examples like the ancient catacombs and the Nolli map. Through augmented reality design the projects will open a window into an digital virtual world. By the end of the workshop students will unveil their interpretation of the material/immaterial form hidden in the real matter.
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www.aaschool.ac.uk/STUDY/VISITING/rome
rome.aaschool.ac.uk