The Norman Foster Foundation has launched an open call for proposals for "On Cities Workshop 2019"  in Madrid which will be held at the Norman Foster Foundation headquarters in Madrid, Spain between 27 - 31 May 2019. The Norman Foster Foundation will select ten students to be awarded a scholarship for the upcoming On Cities workshop.

The On Cities Workshop 2019 will explore new opportunities that integrate emerging technologies with new local information and processes of architecture and design. A special challenge is to imagine scalable models of architecture and design that work with vernacular forces in the built environment and can lead to fast and sustainable development in millions of neighbourhoods over the next decade.

Luis Bettencourt, the 2019 Workshop mentor, introduces the research topic as follows: "The world is urbanizing fast. Most of this transformation, in terms of speed and scale, is occurring in Asia and Africa, where cities are struggling to accommodate and service hundreds of millions of people. This challenge is often characterized by vast informal settlements, which in cities like Mumbai or Lagos may house the majority of the population. National and International Sustainable Development plans call for an unprecedented fast transformation, which must be understood in the context of cities and their neighbourhoods and promoted by new ways of thinking and acting."

The Norman Foster Foundation promotes interdisciplinary thinking and research to help new generations anticipate the future. Since 2017, the Foundation’s Education and Research Units organize a series of workshops and Public Debates where students and professionals from all over the world come together for a week of experimental work and research.

The Foundation will award 10 scholarships to students from the diverse backgrounds of architecture, design, engineering, humanities, technology and urban planning. Grants will cover all transportation, accommodation and meals related to the week-long event in Madrid, Spain. Scholars will engage with an interdisciplinary Academic Body formed by mentors ranging from industry, academia/institutions, consulting and NGOs.

The workshop will take place on 27-31 May 2019 and it is supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has a long-term interest in visionary ways of addressing the challenges faced by cities around the world using data-informed solutions.

Participants are asked to answer to a single question: "How can specific new uses of technology and design enable meaningful, fast and sustainable development of urban informal settlements?". 

Participants will not have to have a fixed format to answer this proposal, they can send a video, presentation, collage, essay, etc. Creativity and original work will be highly appreciated.

Proposals should be sent before 28th February 2019 24:00 CET (Madrid time). 

To see an application form and more details about the application procedure, download this document; On-Cities-Workshop-2019-Application-Form.pdf. 

The Norman Foster Foundation will also hold Digital X Workshop between 18–22 February 2019 at the Norman Foster Foundation headquarters in Madrid. The Foundation recently received the 2018 Gold Medal For Merit In The Fine Arts.

All images courtesy of NFF

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