EASA 2008 events announced

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It’s just a matter of days before the annual European Architecture Students Assembly convenes in Ireland. The Assembly will run from the 9th to the 11th of August in Colaiste Eoin and UCD, Dublin before relocating to the environs of the Furniture College GMIT Letterfrack from the 12th to the 24th of August.

More than 400 students from more than 45 countries will assemble for a series of workshops loosely based on the theme of ‘adaptation,’ which aims to deal with the dramatic changes in Irish society over the last 20 years. 23 workshops have been selected by EASA Ireland for the assembly, ranging from built pavilions and small interventions in the locality to theoretical, abstract and media groups.

‘Lunch Box,’ is a workshop led by young Irish architects Dermot Reynolds, Ronan Costelloe and Joe McMahon. More than 20 students will join them to realise an ambitious timber pavilion and landscape proposal in the courtyard of GMIT Letterfrack. The winning proposal of EASA Ireland’s international student design competition, Anders Malmberg and Gustav Backstrom of Sweden, will lead a workshop ‘Green Room’ to build a mobile, demountable educational pavilion to educate primary school students on renewable energy and sustainable architecture. 26 students will participate in a seminar/thinktank/workshop titled ‘Flux Culture,’ that aims to deal with the issue of migration in Europe and how it effects the built environment.

Public engagement is an important aspect of the assembly, a series of lectures, exhibitions and discussions have been organised to bring together the visiting students and the greater public. EASA Ireland would like to invite you to attend it’s festival program of events in Dublin and Letterfrack detailed below, please arrive early in order to avoid disappointment. Please note that line-ups, venues, dates and times may be subject to adjustment, please visit our website www.easa008.ie for the most up-to-date information.

Discussion: Dublin’s Metamorphosis
Sun 10th August | 12:00-14:00 | CHQ, Docklands
A chaired presentation and discussion on the impact of social cultural and economic change on the built environment of Dublin in the last 15/20 years.
Confirmed speakers:
Dr. Gary Boyd | Professor of Architecture UCC
Robert Ballagh | Dublin Artist
Ciaran Cuffe | Politician and Architect

EASA Official Opening & Exhibition
Sun 10th August | 18:00-20:00 | St. Patricks Hall, Dublin CastleC
EASA 2008 will be officially launched on Sunday evening in the beautiful and historic surroundings of the State Apartments in Dublin Castle. There will be two separate exhibitions, shortlisted entries for the international Europan 9 Dublin & Cork Competitions and shortlisted entries for the EASA Green Room International Student Design Competition.Guest Speaker: Sean O’Laoire, President of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland

EASA Workshop Fair
Mon 11th August | 10:30-12:30 | UCD Astra Hall
Student workshop tutors at EASA will present their workshop proposals and ideas on the theme of adaptation in an open fair format.

Lecture & Discussion: Contemporary Irish Architecture
Mon 11th August | 13:30-15:30 | UCD Astra Hall
A selection of leading young Irish architects will present their individual projects prior to a chaired discussion on the state and future direction of architecture in Ireland.
Confirmed speakers:
Peter Carroll | A2 Architects
Dermot Boyd | Boyd Cody Architects
Gary Lysaght | FKL Architects
Ryan Kennihan | RKA Architects

Lecture: Architecture 53seven
Mon 11th August | 16:00-17:00 | UCD Astra Hall, Dublin
Architecture 53seven is a practice that, despite only being established in 2000, has already won several prestigious architecture awards and has been shortlisted and exhibited in several International competitions. Established by its principal Jason O’Shaughnessy, the focus of the practice has been on the delivery of inventive architecture, with particular interest in developing new forms of occupation that reflect the complexities of modern life. Architecture 53seven will present recent projects and completions.

Lecture: Grafton Architects
Mon 11th August | 19:30-21:30 | UCD Astra Hall, Dublin
Grafton Architects are one the leading practices in Ireland, developing an international reputation for their educational, civic, cultural and infrastructural projects. Recent projects include the Universita Luigi Bocconi, Milan, Italy, the Solstice Arts Centre, Navan and the award-winning ‘The Billets,’ on St.Stephen’s Green.

Film Screening: ‘Kings’
Wed 13th August | 16:30-18:00 | AV Room, Connemara National Park
‘In the mid 1970s a group of young men left the west of Ireland, bound for London, filled with ambition for a better life in a place where they could be kings. Thirty years have passed when they meet again.’ In conjunction with our Flux Culture workshop, which aims to deal with issues of migration and its effects on the built environment, EASA Ireland will be screening this 2007 award-winning Irish film in the AV Room in Connemara National Park.

Lecture: Michael Gibbons Archaeologist
Wed 13th August | 20:00-21:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Local Archaeologist Michael Gibbons will give an in-depth lecture on the history, topography and archaeology of Connemara.

Lecture: O’Donnell + Tuomey Architects
Thurs 14th August | 19:00-21:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Leading Irish architects Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, designers of the Letterfrack Furniture College, will discuss the college and present other recent projects and buildings. Their practice has been selected for more than 50 national and international awards and commendations over the past 20 years and has been shortlisted as finalists for major European awards on several occasions.

Lecture: Andrew Griffin, JDS Architects
Sat 16th August | 19:00-21:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Julien DeSmedt architects of Copenhagen, Brussells and Stockholm are a multi-disciplinary architecture and design practice working at a variety of scales from planning to furniture design projects. Young Dublin architect Andrew Griffin, partner in JDS, will present recent builds and projects from around the world.

Lecture: Richard Murphy Architects
Mon 18th August | 14:00-16:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Richard Murphy founded his practice in 1991. Its early reputation was built on highly crafted and innovative domestic work in the Edinburgh area. The practice has since won an unprecedented 15 RIBA Awards. Richard Murphy Architects have also completed several projects in the West of Ireland. As a student Richard Murphy organised the first EASA assembly in Liverpool in 1981, he now returns to the West of Ireland to visit EASA in its 28th year and present recent projects.

Lecture: Dominic Stevens Architect
Tues 19th August | 19:00-21:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Dominic Stevens is an internationally respected Irish architect and academic based in County Leitrim known for his studies and works on the Irish rural condition. Landscape, vernacular traditions and the rural economy all play a part in his distinctive architecture. He is well-known for his 2007 publication, ‘rural,’ discussing the Irish home in the countryside and his ‘Fluidcity,’ contribution to the Venice Biennale in 2006. He will present recent projects, buildings and areas of investigation.

Workshop Tours
Wed 20th August | 14:00-16:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
Members of the public are invited to visit Letterfrack and see first-hand and discuss the student workshops in progress including a number of ambitious built projects, small interventions and several artistic and theoretical groups.

EASA Final Exhibition Opening
Sat 23rd August | 15:00-20:00 | GMIT @ Letterfrack, Connemara
The results of all the student workshops will be documented, assembled and exhibited in a final exhibition alongside the results of the EASA Student photography competition in Ellis Hall. Th exhibition will be onshow at the campus until the 1st of September.