DROTEX—Drawing on the Existing

International interdisciplinary spring school on experimental drawing for doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in architecture and science studies.

The spring school DROTEX—Drawing on the Existing provides a horizontal, interdisciplinary space for investigating and experimenting with emerging, non-canonical drawing practices as a means of generating new knowledge about the existing. It brings together architectural drawing practitioners, drawing scholars, and post/doctoral researchers in architecture and science studies to jointly explore the potential of experimental drawing in sensing, understanding, and reinterpreting the built environment in order to develop more desirable, possible futures.

The programme builds on the presentation and discussion of a selection of widely recognised, transformative experimental drawing practices. These practices will be explored collectively under the guidance of science studies scholars specialising in drawing and the drawing practitioners themselves. Participants from the field of architecture will engage in intensive hands-on experimentation with the presented practices to strengthen their own drawing-based research methods. Participants from the field of science studies will engage in intensive on-site investigation of the presented practices and subsequent experiments to deepen their understanding of drawing as an epistemic phenomenon for their own scholarly work.

Experiments will unfold along Dortmund’s Hellweg, a central pedestrian street of ancient origin where a variety of architectural scales, temporalities, and phenomena can be found. This path is intended as an open framework for experimentation, which participants can approach from their own perspectives and interests while providing a shared space for reflection and exchange. Alongside the guest contributions, collective discussions, guided experiments, and individual work, the programme includes walkshops (Powell 2018), silent conversations (Karjevsky 2018), decentralised feedback sessions, and a final public exhibition, providing opportunities for research collaboration, mentorship, networking, and professional development.

The event will take place in Dortmund from March 1 to 10, 2027, and it is organised by Prof. Matthias Ballestrem and research associate Marta Fernández Guardado from the Chair of Fundamentals of Architecture (F-ARCH) at TU Dortmund, in collaboration with Prof. Lidia Gasperoni, currently at UCL Bartlett and, from October on, at KU Leuven. Confirmed guests at the event include Jesper Authen and Martha Cruz (Drawing Matter, London), Fabrizia Berlingieri (Politecnico di Milano), Judith Dobler (Weißensee Kunsthochschule Berlin), Larissa Fassler (Berlin), Tim Ingold (University of Aberdeen), Małgorzata Maria Olchowska (Antwerp), Filipe Paixão (Corpo Atelier, Faro), Konstantinos Pantazis (Point Supreme, Athens), Hans-Jörg Rheinberger (Max Planck Institute, Berlin), Ana Luísa Soares (Fala Atelier, Porto), Martino Tattara (Dogma, Brussels), Jo Van Den Berghe (KU Leuven, Ghent), Albena Yaneva (Politecnico di Torino), and Feifei Zhou (terriStories, Nanjing).

Applications are open to post/doctoral researchers in architecture and science studies based in Europe. The event is aimed at architectural researchers whose work relates to the existing built environment and/or employs drawing as a research method, and at science studies researchers whose work touches on knowledge production in research settings and/or investigates drawing as an epistemological phenomenon. Selected candidates will receive full financial support covering participation, meals, travel, and accommodation costs. Childcare services and support for participants with physical disabilities are also available. We warmly welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and circumstances. This event is made possible by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Applications can be sent by email no later than January 10, 2027 to marta.fernandezguardado@tu-dortmund.de. They should include a statement on the applicant’s perspective on and experience with research through drawing (maximum 300 words), an abstract of their post/doctoral research project indicating the role of drawing (maximum 300 words), and three personally relevant visual references to drawing as a research method and epistemological phenomenon, either from their own work or that of others, appropriately credited. The following information should also be provided: full name; contact email; discipline (architecture/science studies); institutional affiliation; title of the post/doctoral research project; doctoral supervisor/project leader; research methodology (maximum 5 keywords); and project stage (early/intermediate/final). Applicants will be informed within one week after the open call closes whether they have been selected. For questions, please contact us at the email address above.