14 Jul 2014-26 Jul 2014

Urban Islands is an independent cross-university program that brings renowned architectural practitioners from around the world to Sydney's Cockatoo Island. Guest studio leaders each run an intensive 12-day workshop based at Cockatoo. Through processes of inhabitation and insinuation, each studio will question the nature of place making in an increasingly mediated world.

Urban Islands Symposium – Monday 14 July
There will be introductions and orientations followed by an evening symposium. Students will have an opportunity to take part in moderated groups to discuss some salient topics in and around urbanism and civic culture, and then present their ideas to the forum. It will be an after-hours event at the offices of BVN-Donovan Hill, but will also see many other noted practitioners (architects, urbanists and artists), who will moderate the various group discussions.

Interim Review – Monday 21 July
After a week of students and visiting studio leaders getting to know each other (and the Island), they will spend a weekend working in studio to come up with their findings and some notional ideas about what they will produce and present, and where on the Island it’s going to go. This will be organised during the day in the studios of Sydney University.

Urban Islands Review Day – Saturday 26 July
During the last day on the island there will be walks through the installations, presentations and discussions. Participating in this event will be a number of practitioners who will aim to expand the conversations beyond that of architectural design to more significant questions like how we interpret our cities and how we might subsequently go about remaking them.

On Monday 21 July, there will an internal Pechakucha night accompanied by a lavish dinner. During the evening a group of diverse local practitioners will present their current obsessions to the guests, so they get a sense of some of the work and ideas emerging in Australia.

> via The Australian Design Review