School of Speculation

SOS_19 Summer School
An independant and nomadic critical design short course
July 29–August 18, 2019

First round application deadline: May 24

Design Museum
224-238 Kensington High Street
London W8 6NQ
United Kingdom

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SOS_19 is London's newest and most affordable independent architecture and design summer school. Running for 2 weeks, 20 students will develop cross-disciplinary individual projects based on a speculative critical design methodology. Co-hosted by the Design Museum, South London Gallery and Anise Gallery, students will work at some of London’s most critically acclaimed art and design institutions.

The course begins through an exploration into the affect of digital platforms on the city before reimagining future worlds as the tools for critical analysis of our contemporary condition. Working along the lines between architecture, design, technology, environment, behaviour, politics and economics, the programme is built on daily workshops and lectures from practitioners at the cutting edge of design and academia.

Joining us for a series of 2-day workshops are:

The Rodina, performative designers and educators at the Design Academy, Eindhoven and The Royal Academy of Arts in The Hague, specialising in video, user experience, installation and virtual environments.

(ab)Normal, a collective experiment in architectural representation, creating unfamiliar visual notions of space to produce an allegory of a culture that revolves obsessively around the internet, gaming and religion.

Also visiting for a series of special events and public lectures are:

Turner Prize winning art collective ASSEMBLE, Editor-in-Chief of the REAL Review, Jack Self, Forensic Architecture’s Samaneh Moafi, artists John Walter, Ed Fornieles, Dr Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg and many more.

Public exhibitions
August 3–4: Curated student Work In Progress show at the Design Museum
August 10–18: Students’ final week-long exhibition at the South London Gallery

Who can apply?
SOS is looking for current university students and enthusiastic individuals of any age who want to challenge society’s norms. The summer course is demanding in design and theory and therefore asks that applicants have some prior knowledge of the architecture and / or design discipline(s). Students must be engaged with contemporary affairs and ready for debate.

How to apply
Fees are GBP 65 with SOS offering five fee waivers for those in situations of financial hardship. First round applications close Friday, May 24. Apply today at schoolofspeculation.xyz 

What is the School of Speculation?
SOS is an independent and nomadic critical design school that aims to challenge current models of delivering higher education. Through partnerships between museums, galleries, libraries and other public institutions, SOS aims to build relationships between the diverse latent pedagogy in our cities to create a different kind of educational offer.

Future SOS events:
SOS@PRIMER19, Saturday, June 15
Tickets now available for a half day interactive workshop exploring digital platforms through a fast-paced world-building exercise, hosted by Speculative Futures.
Parsons School of Design, NYC

SOS@London Festival of Architecture, Saturday, June 22
Limited availability for a free full day performative workshop exploring the relationships between digital platforms and the city's numerous stakeholders.
Anise Gallery, London