U-hangover : summary

U-hangover : danke

I thank Ricardo and Nuno for inviting me to ECB's xmas party! It was a great excuse for taking Z-A to Frankfurt! Following the original idea from Nina and Lisa - several months ago - finally there was a good timing for travelling to Germany... Even if everybody was very busy at this point, Ricardo took control of the situation and contacted Club Voltaire - thank you for making it possible! The staff was very nice and very professional. I thank Lisa for being a great host, Diogo for the collage and Pico for overviewing the text. I send a big thanks to all of those who made part of a very nice xmas-mood-weekend in Frankfurt.

U-hangover : text

This event followed the European Central Bank's Christmas Party . The party was a success but it had – as predicted – a terrible effect on everybody's 'day after'. The U-hangover took place in the charismatic Club Voltaire, self-described as a 'politik kultur kneipe' – exactly what we were looking for! After the initial 'interaction' (Z-connection), there were significantly numerous audiences listening to the presentations given by the speakers we'd invited. We were quite happy to return to the strategy of the very first event, in which everybody present was encouraged to participate – we're not interested in always following the same concept.

A small number of people showed up to literally share their 'hangover' - something not supposedly done in public.

The nature of the space – something between an high-school classroom and a small library - helped sustain a friendly atmosphere in which people discussed random themes, put to the table with the support of virtual communication devices that helped make thoughts visible. It wouldn't be an easy task to describe everybody's contribution - and isn't at all necessary, in any case. We shared information and heard points of view from architectural, political, economic perspectives. Whilst most of us were drinking tea, music was played, videos shown and we saw presentations of on-going academic and professional projects (some of them quite 'secret'). We learned about the changes that Frankfurt is going through, and tried to understand how the current economic situation is affecting everybody's lives. As someone said, the 'hangover hasn't even started yet'.

Participants were born in Germany, Portugal, Greece, Italy and France and are currently living in Frankfurt, Berlin, London and Porto. Here is the list:

Arthur Saint-Guilhem
Diogo Matos
Giuseppe Mosele
Ioli-Georgia Georgila
Katerina Dimopoulou
Lisa Romswinkel
Michele Modugno
Nina Lampe
Nuno Queirós Faria
Paulo Moreira
Pedro Borges de Araújo
Ricardo Pereira
Silvia Margiocco

Paulo Moreira, Ricardo Pereira

U-hangover : video

U-hangover : photos

U-hangover : news

We will meet in Frankfurt, the city of transport, trade fairs and banks, at the Club Voltaire - politik kultur kneipe. The event starts at 18h00m on Saturday the 6th of December 2008. The bar will be opened.

How is the current situation of international economic crisis affecting life in the home of the European Central Bank, where the monetary policy for the eurozone is defined? The meeting takes place in the day after the Christmas Party organized by ECB employees and we will discuss about this and other more interesting subjects. You are welcome to join and share your hangover with us.

(The image shows 'Casa em Seixas' by Diogo Matos.)

U-hangover : flyer

by Paulo Moreira

U-hangover : info

081206 CLUB VOLTAIRE FRANKFURT GERMANY - from 18h00m.

V-roots : sumário

V-roots : obrigado

Agradeço ao Miguel por desafiar-me a trazer pela primeira vez o Z-A a Portugal. Agradeço ao Bacalhoeiro pela abertura e hospitalidade com que receberam o evento. Agredeço aos participantes e a todos os que estiveram presentes, especialmente àqueles que contribuiram com 43,37€ para amortizar o prejuizo que tive por causa do roubo das t-shirts 'ZA loves I' (500€) - as t-shirts iriam ajudar a financiar este projecto, que é 100% independente, mas entretanto foram roubadas no dia anterior ao evento. Agradeço de novo ao Miguel e também aos DJ's Pedro + Diogo (TRAQ3) e Batis + Pente (Waste Youth), que contribuiram com a totalidade do cachet para a mesma causa. Foi pena a festa não ter continuado como gostaríamos após as apresentações, mereciam igual assistência!

V-roots : texto

O “V roots” aconteceu na noite de Sábado, dia 19 de Julho de 2008, no Bacalhoeiro, em Lisboa. Como manda a tradição, o evento começou atrasado e com alguns problemas e contratempos: um jantar que o bacalhoeiro entretanto tinha combinado para a mesma hora sem nos avisar antes (acabaram por se mudar para outra sala…), os microfones que deixaram todos de funcionar no momento em que as apresentações começaram (falou tudo ao “natural”, à antiga…), os problemas com o projector de imagem e som (os vídeos tiveram que ficar para a segunda parte, já com o problema resolvido…). Mas como também manda a tradição, tudo se resolveu e acabou por correr bem.
Houve uma grande diversidade de temas abordados nas várias apresentações. A abrir este “interaction”, Paulo Moreira começou por explicar como surgiu a ideia de fazer estes encontros, mostrou algumas imagens e curiosidades dos eventos passados de Bregenz, Barcelona, Londres e Madrid. Uma agradável surpresa foram as apresentações que se concentraram em retratar questões do foro sociológico e político, demonstrando uma consciencialização de problemas actuais como: o ordenamento do território (Ateliermob); o conflito israelo-palestiniano (Nuno Coelho); os choques culturais na metrópole de Paris (Andreia Florentino e Anthony Rougier); uma reflexão sobre história, arquitectura e sociedade (Atelier Base). Através da plataforma “myspace”, Mariana Tengner Barros explorou as potencialidades do mundo virtual. O arquitecto Pedro Campos Costa mostrou parte do seu percurso paralelo como actor. Também houve apresentações de projectos/obras na área da arquitectura, nomeadamente: uma casa no Algarve (Nuno Rodrigues); a sede do parque natural da Ilha do Fogo em Cabo Verde (Oto); um centro escolar numa aldeia perto de Aveiro (Miguel Marcelino); uma pizzaria em Barcelona e lofts em Milão (Lola); um projecto de iluminação para uma galeria em Estocolmo (Mafalda Rangel).
O balanço geral do “V roots” é bastante positivo. No total estiveram cerca de 70 pessoas neste “interaction” o que lhe reforça a atmosfera informal, quase “familiar”, que tem caracterizado este tipo de encontros. Para terminar, queria agradecer a todos os oradores pelas suas apresentações que foram de uma grande diversidade e interesse, a todas as pessoas que vieram assistir e conviver nesta bela noite de Verão, ao staff do bar do Bacalhoeiro por não deixar ninguém ficar com sede e, para terminar, agradecer ao Paulo Moreira pelo esforço e dedicação com que tem organizado estes encontros. Foi um prazer co-organizar este “V roots” em Lisboa. Que venham muitos mais “interactions”!

Miguel Marcelino

V-roots : video

V-roots : photos

V roots - notícias

É com grande satisfação que escrevemos pela primeira vez em português neste blog.V roots decorrerá no Sábado 19 de Julho no Bacalhoeiro em Lisboa, a partir das 21h30m.

Os participantes serão:
Andreia Florentino e Anthony Rougier , ilustradora/professor, Paris
Ateliermob, arquitectos, Lisboa
Atelier Base, arquitectos, Lisboa
Mafalda Rangel, arquitecta/lighting designer, Estocolmo
Mariana Tengner Barros, bailarina/performer/coreógrafa, Lisboa
Miguel Marcelino, arquitecto, Lisboa
Nuno Coelho, designer, Porto
Nuno Rodrigues, arquitecto, Lisboa
Lola, arquitectos, Barcelona
Oto, arquitectos, Lisboa
Paulo Moreira, arquitecto, Porto
Pedro Campos Costa, arquitecto, Lisboa

Haverá actuações dos djs:
TRAQ3
Waste Youth

P.S. A imagem refere-se ao projecto 'Uma Terra Sem Gente, Para Gente Sem Terra', tema da apresentação de Nuno Coelho.

V roots - flyer

by Miguel Marcelino

V roots - info

080719 BACALHOEIRO LISBOA PORTUGAL - das 21h30m às 3h00m

W files - summary

W files - gracias

Gracias a Key y Ali por todo... Enhorabuena por el suceso de SB! Gracias a tod@s l@s que ayudaran en la preparación y desarollo del evento... Gracias a tod@s que veniran a compartir su trabajo y a l@s que presenciaran... Ha sido una experiencia muy intensa sentir un poco de lo que es la generación creativa de Madrid. Thank you to the 'Berlin group' for sharing your projects with us, I'm sure we'll meet sooner than you expect:)

W files - text

The W-files took place on Saturday 14th June 2008, the first sunny day in Madrid after a month of intense rain. The location was Studio Banana (www.studiobanana.org), a multidisciplinary creativity platform created by Key Portilla-Kawamura and Ali Ganjavian (kawamura-ganjavian), long-time friends of Paulo.
The presentations were divided into two blocks. Benedikt Partenheimer, a photographer from Berlin, showed us his series Turnaround and Falling in which he challenges the conventions of portraiture, and the series Point of View, depicting staged bizarre situations. The Colombian architects Husos (Diego Barajas and Camilo García) presented a few projects located in their country, amongst them the intriguing piece-meal construction of the Hospice-Garden for butterflies in Cali. German architect Anna Partenheimer, whose office is in Berlin, shared an array of projects under different categories like Houses (intervention in a farm house in Tuscany), Interiors (several projects in Berlin), Objects (Furniture) and Colours(photographic project in the streets of Oaxaca, Mexico). Miguel Olivares, director of the publicity agency La Despensa showed with a twist of humour several of their campaigns where politics, mass media, advertising and communication mix seamlessly (yosoydelosreyesmagos, jorgejuanalcalde).
After the pause, Tavo Ponce mesmerized the audience with his rhythmic hypnotic motion graphics for several companies (MTv, MADinSpain, SerialCut). The young collective Zoohaus, composed by architects, engineers, mathematicians and other people, explained the complex network they have created to enable long-distance internet-based project collaborations. Ciro, from mmmm... showed us several of their engaging projects which they have developed over the years (telemadre, Amazonas virus, Kiss invasion, Action in a Skip). Finally, Anne Bürger, a German film director, presented the trailer of her recent documentary Mambo and the first footage of a Europe-wide long-feature movie she is filming about the young creative breed.
After the presentations Ramiro Losada invited all participants and guests to participate in an improvised brunch at the pimped-up Moquetas23, an abandoned building that he tuned up together with the students of the Self Design master course. At 18:00 Studio Banana projected live the high-profile high-pressure football game Spain-Sweden, which Spain won thanks to a goal in the very last minute of the match.

Key Portilla-Kawamura and Ali Ganjavian

W files - video

W files - photos

W files - news

La agenda para la jornada del Sábado 14 de junio 2008 es la siguiente:
The schedule for Saturday 14th June 2008 is as follows:

14:00_Encuentro de todos los participantes en Studio Banana
14:00_Arrival of all participants to Studio Banana

14:30_Llegada de público y snacks
14:30_Arrival of public and snacks

15:00_Comienzo de la sesión de presentaciones, con una pausa en medio
15:00_Presentations start, with a short break in the middle

17:00_Fin de presentaciones, visita al barrio de Studio Banana
17:00_End of presentations and visit to the Studio Banana neighbourhood

18:00_Proyección del partido Suecia-España en Studio Banana
18:00_Projection of the football game Sweden-Spain in Studio Banana

Esta es la lista de participantes confirmados:
This is the list of confirmed participants:

Anne Bürger directora de cine / film director - Berlin
Anna Partenheimer arquitecta / architect - Berlin
Benedikt Partenheimer fotografo / photographer - Berlin
Husos arquitectura / architecture - Madrid
La Despensa publicidad creativa / guerilla marketing - Madrid
mmmm... diseño grafico / graphic design - Madrid
Tavo art direction / motion design - Madrid
Zoohaus (en el imagen de arriba / in the picture above) - Madrid

Para saber cómo llegar a Studio Banana:
Find out how to arrive in Studio Banana under:
http://www.studiobanana.org/dnde-estamos/

warm regards,
Paulo Moreira / Key Portilla-Kawamura / Ali Ganjavian

X spot - summary

X spot - thanks

I thank Thomas for all the effort given to the event... Together with Mei, you were a great host during those 5 days in London... and Mei, thanks for the nice photos displayed in the blog:)
I thank Pauline and Deborah for the sympathy and the easy-goingness: The George Tavern was definitely the right spot for hosting the X!
I feel immensely greatfull to all the people that got so deeply involved with trying to find 'the missing cable' (we were told just one hour before the event start that there were no connection from the laptop to the projector... as you can imagine, the alarm rang in all directions, and the real 'interaction' started... Commited with the 'Save The George Tavern' campaign, we lauched another one: 'Save The X Spot'! We started contacting nearly everyone we could in order to find a cable, as the shops were closed for some time already... thank you so much Alex, Anna, Dulcineia, Mei, Nick, Rute, and all the others who helped... I can't even mention all the names! Without you the event wouldn't have been the same!). At the end, everything was solved and actually it was a warm evening in London so the late start was not that bad after all :P
Thank you to all the speakers for the passion given to the presentations and for those who couldn't present... I hope we can meet in future 'interactions'.

X spot - text

The X.Spot took place on Friday 2nd of May 2008 at The George Tavern in East London. The event had about 80 people attending.
Due to technical problems there was a serious delay but it was solved with the help from friends of friends of friends… It was already late when a mixture between the East London pub space, the projected images and the ideas created a unique atmosphere. The people were listening and watching, probably also smelling the old curtains, timber beams and wallpapers.
Paulo Moreira explained a bit about the notion of organizing events for creative people in different cities. Interesting drawings showed: Portuguese architect Pedro Bandeira adding that he could not really explain them but he enjoyed it. Brazilian architect Ricardo de Ostos from NaJa & de Ostos showed his work with astonishing drawings and the book he has published recently. Emanuel Sousa spoke about the meaning of X and gave a glimpse of his ample architecture projects. London based architect Adam Khan impressed with a composition of atmospheric architectural moments combined with music. After that designer Paula Amaral introduced her idea of mapping home of her new book “Private Landscape – a domestic survey” (Publicações Dulcineia #2, 2008).
After a small break the event continued with architect Nicholas Lobo Brennan who showed his film “The bird of Merit”. The mexican industrial designer Agustin Otegui who had just arrive from North Carolina explained an alternative idea of getting wind energy. The last speaker was Alex Bank, who is an architect and chef, and he made his point about food and architecture.
The diversity of the participants’ work and the openness of the public made the X.Spot in London an enjoyable and enriching event.
Thank you all!

Thomas Gantner

X spot - video

X spot - photos

X spot - news

Here is the provisory list of participants:
Adam Khan (architect, England)
Agustin Otegui (industrial designer, Mexico)
Alex Bank (cook and architect, England)
Emanuel Sousa (architect, Portugal)
Nannette Jackowski & Ricardo de Ostos (architects and writers, Germany/Brazil)
Nicholas Lobo Brennan (architect, Brazil-England)
Paula Amaral (designer, Portugal)
Pedro Bandeira (architect, Portugal)

(the picture above is referred to the book 'Private Landscape - A Domestic Survey' by Paula Amaral (Publicações Dulcineia, 2008). We are proud to host the launching of the book:)

X spot, W files - news

I am pleased to anounce 2 more 'interactions': the 'X spot' in London, on Friday the 2nd of May 2008 and the 'W files' in Madrid, on Saturday the 14th of June 2008. I will have as 'local partners', co-organizing the events, Thomas Gantner in London and Key Portilla-Kawamura in Madrid. In London the event will be hosted by The George Tavern. As they said 'There are approx 10,000 artists, performers and musicians in Central East London. All of whom need places to meet and a platform to show work', we thought it would be the perfect spot for our meeting. We plan to show presentations from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (with a break) and then stay in for drinking and talking untill The George closes, at 1 a.m.. Please notice that Thursday the 1st of May is a holiday in most countries in Europe, so it could be a good opportunity to take Friday off and spend some days in London... If you already live there, you are invited to join us and bring your friends. In Madrid the event will be hosted by the Studio Banana, 'un faro cultural de debate y encuentro' dedicated to 'creación con carácter transdisciplinar'. We plan to show presentations from 15h00m to 17h00m and then stay in for watching Sweden vs Spain, referring to Euro Cup 2008 (starts at 18h00m). We thought this could be a great way of mixing culture and sport. You are invited to join us and bring your friends...

W files - flyer

by Key Portilla-Kawamura

X spot - flyer

by Thomas Gantner

W files - info

080614 STUDIO BANANA MADRID SPAIN - from 15h00m to 20h00m

X spot - info

080502 THE GEORGE TAVERN LONDON ENGLAND - from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Y proximidad - summary

Y proximidad - thanks

I thank Iván for making this event happen! I thank everyone who helped preparing everything, from the screen to the sandwiches, from the sound system to the ice cubes... you know who you are! Gracias to all the participants and those who came to spend a Saturday evening with us! It was a great 'interaction'! I specially thank AR for all the support and patience... I wish you and IG all the success for 'El Local'! I sincerely thank EG and GG for providing accomodation during those intensive days and nights in Barcelona...

Y proximidad - text

Después del éxito que tuvieron las presentaciones del Z-connection en Bregenz, y de la visita a las termas de Vals con el encuentro casual con Peter Zumthor, algunos de los arquitectos que fuimos invitados a participar y presenciar la exposición acordamos realizar una en Barcelona, con la ayuda de Paulo Moreira organizador y amigo.

Estaba claro el sitio, pues desde hace algunos meses en un intento de hacer un estudio colectivo de arquitectura y diseño, arrancamos el proyecto de ‘El Local’. La idea original del sitio era reunir a personas de distintas disciplinas para trabajar y organizar un espacio multitudinario, no solo de trabajo, sino de creación y diseño en general. Un espacio abierto a la comunidad creativa, un espacio de reflexión y de movimiento fuera de lo acotado, lucrativo y burocrático que puede llegar a ser un museo o una sala de exposiciones. Desde entonces ‘El Local’ ha ido cobrando forma desarrollando en el diferentes exposiciones, proyecciones de cortometrajes, así como pequeños conciertos y lo mas importante cobrando fuerza como espacio alternativo de cultura contemporánea, además de ser nuestro espacio de trabajo.

Después de comenzar con los preparativos de la continuación del proyecto de Z-connection en Barcelona, nos pareció bien no solamente cambiar la ultima letra del alfabeto, sino incorporar un tema nuevo que tuviese que ver con el contexto o la intención de lo que se presenta. Así entonces nació la idea de llamarle Y-proximidad. Proximidad como la palabra lo indica es la cualidad de acercar o de aproximar cosas o las relaciones de cosas. Nos pareció la palabra adecuada, ya que las personas invitadas a participar venían de condiciones semejantes pero de sitios completamente distintos (algunos de ellos actualmente trabajando en Barcelona). Era entonces la oportunidad de mostrarnos desde sus ojos los proyectos, concursos, los procesos de investigación personales y la importancia y multiplicidad de los trabajos realizados en distintas latitudes.

Los participantes:
Afarin Azimian Moghaddam (arquitecta, Irán)
Ander Aginako & Amaia Celaya (arquitectos, España)
Diogo Matos & Pedro Borges de Araújo (arquitectos, Portugal)
Edouard Decam (arquitecto y fotógrafo, Francia)
Irving de la Rosa & Giovani Acevedo (arquitectos, México)
Ivan Arellano (arquitecto, México)
Leopold Banchini (arquitecto, Suiza)
Miguel Marcelino (arquitecto, Portugal)
Paulo Moreira (arquitecto, Portugal)
Sarah de Gaudemar (diseñadora, Francia)
Tomás Valle (diseñador, Portugal)

El resultado, 11 presentaciones en 2 horas aproximadamente, con una asistencia de mas de 100 personas. El evento seguió con la realización de una fiesta de clausura con la participación de los djs invitados KETEPICA y TRAQ3.
Quiero agradecer a todos los participantes, y a las personas que directa o indirectamente ayudaron a la realización de Y-proximidad.

Iván Arellano
(only spanish version available)

Y proximidad - video

Y proximidad - photos

Y proximidad - flyer

by Iván Arellano

Y proximidad - info

080112 EL LOCAL BARCELONA SPAIN - from 20h00m to 1h00m.

Z connection - summary

Z connection - thanks

I want to thank all the participants for making this event such a great experience! I thank SR, TW and DM for providing accomodation during those special days in Austria and Switzerland. I specially thank WN, KH and all the Kunsthaus staff for allowing us to use their facilities!

Z connection - text

Back in 2002/03 I attended the Atelier Zumthor at the Accademia di Architettura, in Switzerland. In 2007 the Kunsthaus Bregenz had on display the most extensive exhibition of this architect, so far. I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to see those large-scale models and to feel once again the ‘atmosphere’ that Peter Zumthor was always talking about during his critics to the students. Furthermore, the building itself is definitely worth a visit! I thought this could also be a great chance to meet the people from 2002/03 Atelier Zumthor, who are now spread around in different cities… I decided to call the event the ‘Z connection’.
In order to make the meeting more interesting, I thought it could be nice to show each other’s a short presentation of what one has been doing over the last years… and for that I contacted the Kunsthaus asking whether they could lend us a room with a laptop and a beamer for a couple of hours. The answer was enthusiastic! I immediately started contacting people, and asked to spread the news to others that may have been missing in my email list. Soon I got some positive replies, while some others said they couldn’t join because they were living in Sidney or New York, or they had a deadline in London or Berlin very close to the proposed date. Meanwhile, the news started spreading to other students, assistants or former-students of the Accademia. Some people were telling me that they might bring their girlfriends or boyfriends or other friends that they hadn’t seen for a while… And so did I, asked friends I met during my other professional abroad experiences, in Basel and Barcelona. The group was growing and growing. In the end, there were people from 9 Nationalities (Argentina, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland), travelling from 13 different cities (Antwerpen, Barcelona, Basel, Braumschweig, Frankfurt, Lisboa, Mendrisio, Porto,Vienna, Winthertur, Wolfhalden, Zurich).
Those who presented their work were:
Ana Leite Fernandes (architect, Portugal),
Key Portilla-Kawamura (architect, Spain/Japan),
Nuno Travasso (architect, Portugal),
Paulo Moreira (architect, Portugal),
Rute Carvalho (designer, Portugal) and
Thomas Gantner (architect, Germany)- who unfortunately couldn’t be at the event but still emailed a ppt.
The ‘Z connection’ was a very casual and easy-going event and all participants considered it a success.
Two days later, a smaller group of friends and I met Peter Zumthor in the Therme Vals by chance. We said hello and told him about the ‘Z connection’… Zumthor’s reaction was ‘Ah, a meeting point… that’s a very good idea’. It was the beginning of the Z-A-interaction.

Paulo Moreira

Z connection - video

Z connection - photos

Z connection - flyer

by Paulo Moreira.

Z connection - info

071103 KUNSTHAUS BREGENZ AUSTRIA - from 14h30m to 18h.