'HONOURING THE INFORMAL' AT THE UIA ARCHITECTURE CONGRESS IN DURBAN

Continuing its focus on informality in the context of architecture and urban spaces, the Goethe-Institut South Africa presents an extensive side programme accompanying the International Union of Architects World Congress (UIA) which will take place from 3 to 7 August 2014 in Durban. The intervention Rush Hour – Acknowledging everyday practices transforms a plot of land besides the M3 highway into a temporary station for hitchhikers, who have been using the space as part of an informal pedestrian route between the periphery and the centre of Durban. As a collaboration between Durban-based collective dala and raumlabor, an experimental practice from Berlin, a construction of used car bodies will be built, both serving as a shelter and a landmark acknowledging (informal) everyday practices. As part of the Interface2012-14 project, a series of installations and performances, as well as a photography exhibition and a colloquium will be realized in Durban, exploring alternative bottom-up ways of better understanding public spaces. Two outstanding architecture exhibitions will be hosted at the Beerhall in Durban: Informal Studio: Marlboro South documents a collaborative project between students, community planners and residents from the informally settled warehouses and open plots in Marlboro South bordering Alexandra Township, developed by the architectural practice 26'10 South Architects as part of an architecture course at the University of Johannesburg. The exhibition will also be presented in Cape Town later this year, as part of Open Design at the City Hall in Cape Town. Ecology.Design.Synergy is an exhibition that presents solutions for a sustainable and responsible architecture with a lower consumption rate of natural resources. The Goethe-Institut is also promoting a pan-African exchange, inviting a number of leading architects from the continent and hosting a workshop focused on African authorship in architecture. Furthermore, students from six schools in South Africa and Malawi will come together in a camp to learn, explore and discuss what their cities, homes and other living spaces look like at the moment and what they could look like in the future. PUBLIC OPENING DATES IN DURBAN: 2 August, 15.00 Rush Hour – Acknowledging everyday practices / installation Cnr King Dinizulu Rd and Carters Ave (across from Berea Centre) > go to Google Maps 2 August 16.30 Interface 2012-14 / interdisciplinary project Artspace Durban, 3 Millar Road, Durban 2 August 18.00 Informal Studio: Marlboro South / exhibition ECOLOGY.DESIGN.SYNERGY / exhibition organized by the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa) Beerhall, 102 Florence Nzama Street, South Beach, Durban WORKSHOPS: Writing African Architecture Workshop 31 July - 01 August 2014 KwaZulu Natal Society of Arts (KZNSA), Durban As part of the International Union of Architects World Congress (UIA), the Goethe- Institut promotes a pan-African exchange in the field of architecture, inviting a number of leading architects from the continent to engage in the conference, as well as hosting a workshop focussed on African authorship in architecture. Naeem Biviji (Kenya), Issa Diabaté (Ivory Coast), Koku Konu (Nigeria), Jean-Jacques Kotto (Cameroon), Lesley Lokko (Ghana/SA), Bisrat Kifle (Ethiopia) and doung Anwar Jahangeer (Mauritius/SA) participate. A special guest will be German curator and architecture historian Andres Lepik, head curator of the Pinakothek der Moderne and head of the architecture faculty at the Technical University in Munich. Architecture Camp for High School Students 03 August 2014 - 09 August 2014 Durban, various venues German language learners from six PASCH high schools (Schools: Partners for the Future) in South Africa and Malawi will be meeting for a camp in Durban from 3 to 9 August as part of the UIA congress’ activities. Assisted by Yvonne Graefe from the Bauhaus University in Weimar, they will learn, explore and discuss what their cities, homes and other living spaces look like at the moment and what they could look like in the future. www.goethe.de