Workshop - Anatomija otoka - centre for the research and development of islands and island communities

Anatomy of Islands Workshop Lastovo 2018

TEMPORAL COMMUNAL NETWORKS

18–25 September 2018

When discussing the common good, we start from four basic questions: how is belonging to a community (that manages the common good) defined, what does the common good consist of, when and under what conditions can it be used, and what is the best method of managing it. To all those seeking answers to these questions, islands are an interesting destination: due to their spatial limitations, island societies have always tended to use co-operative and flexible models in dealing with available resources, while exposure to permanent and temporary migrations required constant questioning and reinterpretation of the concepts of community and the communal. It could be said that the definitive, strict border (of the island) leads to softer and more dynamic internal borders, which in turn result in complex and, in terms of ownership, temporally fluid spaces and their networks – which are the central topic of this workshop.

COMMUNAL NETWORKS

On the micro-local level, from the typology of settlements to engineering solutions, the Island of Lastovo offers relatively unexplored but vital examples of sustaining life on the island throughout its multi-millennial history, including examples that could and should provoke re-thinking of the future spatial and social models. The tradition of communal use of restricted resources on Lastovo is an example of self-sustainable management of agricultural land, maritime domain, traffic infrastructure, communal waste, water supply infrastructure, traditional events, and even tourism, as a relatively recent phenomenon that results in the seasonal character of the settlements as well as their multi-functionality, thus posing an additional conceptual and planning challenge.

The location of the project assignment is Selo, a medieval but still functioning, although partly abandoned settlement located on an inland slope of the island. An architectural and urbanistic element of vital importance in Selo is sular – a large terrace on the first residential level, typically enclosed by benches forming a sitting area shaded by a pergola. Each neighbourhood has one communal sular. Sulari are also important gathering points along the route of the procession in the traditional annual carnival event, the Lastovo Carnival, when they are open for everyone. Along with paths and squares, they form a complex network of spaces with richly layered identity determinants. They can serve as a map providing insight into the historical character of the whole community as well as the very idea of communal, private and public realms. Permanent and temporary inhabitants of Selo incorporate their own narratives into these already hybrid spaces, gradually changing and adding to the network. Identifying it anew, determining its contemporary character, and speculating on its modifications are tasks for observation and action.

ASSIGNMENT

As part of the workshop assignment, students will work with interpretive maps of a network of town areas suitable for various forms of communal use to study existing practices of management and conditions of use of those areas. Subsequently, they will design minimal spatial reconstructions, but also propose new forms of individual and collective creative work and "performative actions" that could enrich and strengthen the communal networks embedded into the physical structure of the settlement. On the large scale, it will be necessary to identify various groups that make up the dynamic mosaic of the community and define its connecting characteristics. On the small scale, using the example of the Carnival, additional forms of interaction and collective action could be formulated, inspiring non-commercial cooperation and dialogue between those groups, including tourists, seasonal workers, various categories of “rooted” population, and recent “newcomers”. The results should form a mosaic made up of a concrete spatial concept suitable for hosting suggested social practices and of a less tangible but still deliberate economic micro-model that would facilitate the financing of the planned activities and would constitute a form of egalitarian and solidary interaction. The local community should gain useful guidance, concrete plans for reconstruction or adaptation of buildings, planned interventions in communal spaces, proposals for inventive models of preserving sulari and public gardens, places for sharing personal stories, places for building new identities.

ATTENDANCE

The workshop is intended primarily for students of architecture, urbanism, landscape architecture, humanities (especially cultural anthropology and history), performing arts and economics. Participants will receive extensive workshop materials to prepare for assignment work and will be led in the analysis and design phases by an international and interdisciplinary team of mentors. Several expert lectures will be held during the workshop, and guest lecturers will take part in the internal design presentations. A public presentation will be held at the end of the workshop.

E-mail for applications: info@anatomija-otoka.com

Application documentation: CV and cover letter

Application deadline: 30 June 2018

Registration fee: 150 HRK or 20 Euro

(Includes participation in the academic and practical programme of the symposium and the workshop, excursion and closing party)

MENTORS

Toshiki Hirano, University of Tokyo
Elisabeth Luggauer, Würzburg University
Aleksander Saša Ostan, Ljubljana Faculty of Architecture
Sano Satoshi, Eureka Architects and Keio University, Tokyo

GUEST LECTURERS

Davisi Boontharm, Meiji University, Tokyo
Sara Jurinčić, independent architect and filmmaker, Zagreb/Zadar
Nevena Kereša, independent architect, Vienna
Darko Radović, Keio University, Tokyo
Nenad Starc, Zagreb Institute of Economics
Sean Turner, LAG5, Lastovo

CONCEPT AND ORGANIZATION

Mariana Bucat, Dobre Dobričević Association
Ana Jeinić, Anatomy of Islands
Diana Magdić, independent researcher and activist

PROGRAMME

September 18^th

Registration of participants
Introductory speeches by guest lecturers

September 19^th

Presentation of the workshop topic and program
Introduction of organizers, supervisors, guest lecturers, and critics
Introduction to the context and location of the project task in the form of a guided field visit
Introduction into the methods of ethnographic research

September 20^th–23^th

Morning lectures by workshop leaders and guest lecturers
Field research and group work on the project task
Interim presentations of projects with workshop leaders and guest critics
Organized dinner with representatives of the local community

September 24^th

Public presentation of projects/Exhibition opening

September 25^th

Organized leisure activities

SCHEDULE OF LECTURES

September 18^th