Midwest Mafia Moves
24.03.2015 – 07.04.2015

The topic of this course is a two weeks fieldtrip to the USA. Focus of the fieldtrip is an active and therefore very suspicious cooperation between american universities of the mid west, which are known as the "Midwest Mafia of Architecture Schools." In February 2013, a four-day summit was organized to celebrate this connection in an organized fashion. The collaboration between the schools at this meeting showed in this context that “architecture is no longer bound to the canvas – plans and sections – but can be ‘represented’ in sitcoms or Sears-style shopping catalogues.” (Matt Shaw for Domus, 19.02.2013).
During the fieldtrip, we will get to know this network, its teaching and practice, as well as visit the surrounding significant architectural region from Miami to Chicago. From postmodern icons like "Celebration," going on to the birth of deconstructivism in Ohio, all the way up to the Chicago School of Architecture, our journey encompasses numerous milestones of North-American architectural history of the 20th Century.

Preliminary route:

24.03 Departure Vienna - Arrival Miami
25.03 Meeting Miami, Car rental
26.03 Miami - Celebration, Visit Celebration, Celebration - Jacksonville
27.03 Jacksonville - Beaufort
28.03 Beaufort - Charlottesville, Visit Monticello
29.03 Charlottesville - Columbus, Visit Wexner Center, Columbus Convention Center
30.03 Visit and talks Ohio State University, Knowlton School of Architecture
31.03 Columbus - Toledo, Visit Toledo Museum of Art
01.04 Visit University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning
02.04 Toledo - Chicago
03.04 Day off or Visit and workshop University of Illinois, Chicago School of Architecture
04.04 Visist Oak Park
05.04 Architectural tour Chicago
06.04 Visit and workshop University of Illinois, Chicago School of Architecture
07.04 Departure Chicago
08.04 Arrival Vienna
 

The maximum number of students has already been met. Registration for this course is no longer possible.

First meeting: March 5th, 2015, seminar room @ a-theory

Participation throughout the programme, including talks, school visits and worksjops