EASA COMMONS

Aug 2023
Sheffield, UK
︎ easacommons@gmail.com
︎ @easacommons

Commoning Workshops︎︎︎ Workshop Resources.︎︎︎Reality Lab Commons

Welcome to EASA
EASA is Europe’s longest running decentralised architectural education system. Re-forming annually for over 40 years, it gives different countries in Europe the opportunity to host international events at the cutting edge of architectural discourse.

In 2023, the annual gathering will be held in the Sheffield city region, with the theme of COMMONS. Designers and artists from Europe and beyond are invited to respond to this theme, which seeks to challenge the social, material and theoretical implications of commonly-held resources and space.

Workshops and live projects will be held both online and in person throughout 2022 and 2023, culminating in the main two-week long event in Sheffield, England.

Pavillions
One of EASA’s main outputs is building 17 pavilions and 35 architecture and urbanism workshops in total. Pavillions dapple urban landscape and transform unloved spaces into places of discovery and beauty.

The outcomes of these pavillions are manifold. They raise perceptions and promote the city and new urban potential. They create new public and social spaces in collaboration with existing community groups and give more reasons for people to explore and walk around the city. They bring a sense of beauty and joy to the city and evolve and enhance the city as a mode of exploration, opening up doorways for new conversation around city’s use.

They are designed in a series of workshops before the event, where international community members come to and spend time in Sheffield, and buddy with local community groups. The building process during the event is a form of community-making and skill-sharing activity which ultimately has an immense public impact in the form of 17 transformed places and spaces.

What is EASA?
EASA (European Architecture Students Assembly) is a longstanding, decentralised network of architecture students with an open mind, where students and young creatives collaborate at the intersection of education and practice. Organised around assemblies, each year a different country within the EASA network hosts the main 2-week long summer residency (with smaller events happening throughout the year).

This event is attended by around 500 international participants and consists of around 35 workshops, each with different outputs. Workshops comprise a diverse array of activities including construction projects, public artworks, discussions, publications, performances, sculpture and installations. These events enable participants to explore alternative forms of architectural pedagogy, with students taking the delivery of their education into their own hands. This main intensive period of creation sees participants living, working and eating together in an event that sits somewhere between a festival and a residency.

With the global lean towards decentralisation at every level (initiated by the digital transition) EASA, being decentralised for 40 years is assuming an increasingly important role. Evolving hubs internationally, and providing a framework for a genuinely alternative to the current education system and forging new roles for the architectural practitioner.

See previous work from the EASA network ︎︎︎here.︎︎︎

Programme
EASA Commons is an ecosystem of intersecting projects based between England and Ireland, enriched through collaboration with the extended network across Europe.

A rough calendar of upcoming events and commoning workshops can be found ︎︎︎here︎︎︎

Register interest for the next commoning workshop ︎︎︎here︎︎︎

Sign up to Commons mailing list ︎︎︎here︎︎︎

Louis - introduction to Sheffield

Joe Ridealgh- Introduction to Commons