A plan has been forged, the rocket has launched ! Designated European Capital of Culture under the banner of Esch2022, a number of neighbouring municipalities in Luxembourg and France are celebrating culture in hope of regenerating their cities. The red iron ore deposits common to this cross-border region don't just define unique natural landscapes, but their extraction as part of the global industrial revolution effected the shared architectural heritage, which is now awaiting future functions. In addition to existing efforts to transition from steel industries to knowledge economies, the year-long festival stresses the ever-growing pressures on the environment, infrastructure, housing and the population. As the small and affluent country is holding the title for the third time, the festival could be yet another opportunity to address these issues through a change in organisational cultures. The AA Visiting School Luxembourg will critically examine the way in which cultural events allow different communities to claim or reclaim agency over the spaces they wish to shape. The analysis of the local situation will contribute to the global discussion on how architects might help identify this disconnect and instigate the convergence between sustainable social and material production.

This summer we will immerse ourselves in a selection of projects, which run inside and outside the wider programmatic framework of Esch2022, to create our own. In the Southern Minett region, participants will explore post-agricultural, post-industrial and perhaps post-corporate environments through engaging with the material and immaterial expressions of cultural memories. Thereafter they will rework their initial impressions, in a series of theoretical and practical workshops with leading experts as well as local citizens in Esch-sur-Alzette, to form intellectual positions. After their introduction to the broader topic of universal exhibitions, which might be similar to the pan-European cultural initiative, and their research of specific site conditions, participants will debate how architects might encourage social interaction to effect material change. On a so-called 'tiers-lieu culturel', they will be challenged to participate in a one-to-one circular construction workshop, in exchange with the local transition movement. At the end of the two weeks, participants will have realised a collective urban intervention which responds to the initial provocation.

Organized by the Architectural Association School of Architecture (London)

AAVS Luxembourg is organized in collaboration with the Luxembourg Center for Architecture, the Master in Architecture at the University of Luxembourg and Chair in Urban Regeneration for Esch-sur-Alzette, as well as the Center for Ecological Learning Luxembourg – F.U.T.U.R.E. (Forge of tangible, urban and resilient utopias).

With the support of Œuvre Nationale de Secours Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.