Past Studios Abroad
Arles, France | Fall 2022
The Fall 2022 studio abroad took a cohort of students to Arles, France to study under the tutelage of Farshid Moussavi and Hanif Kara in their studio entitled Sustainable Commons: The Function of Housing and Urban Mining. Both Kara and Moussavi and also Niklas Maak are teaching accompanying seminars, respectively entitled: EMBODIED CARBON – Material Cycles and Circularity, Housing Matters, and How to Live Together. Fourier and the Future of Collective Housing.
Tokyo, Japan | Spring 2020
Students had another opportunity to travel to Tokyo and work with Sou Fujimoto. This year, the studio was co-taught by Kaz Yoneda, and was entitled Small is Big; Newborn Typologies from the City without a Manifesto. Kayoko Ota and Mits Kanada joined once more to teach the accompanying seminars. Unfortunately, this year’s studio abroad was truncated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which shortened the experience abroad of the students.
Tokyo, Japan | Spring 2019
Sou Fujimoto offered, for the first time, his Tokyo studio abroad entitled New Topologies of Our Living Environment. Kayoko Ota and Mits Kanada again taught accompanying seminars, respectively entitled: “ Challenges & Inventions in the Practice in Tokyo” and “Tectonic Traditions in Japan.”
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Fall 2018
Students had another opportunity to work at OMA to bring its long-running“Countrysides” project towards its conclusion under the tutelage of Professor Rem Koolhaas. Catherine Lea Szacka-Marier and Sebastien Marot offered seminars complementing the themes and goals of the studio.
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Spring 2018
For the third year in a row, students had the opportunity to participate in an option studio in Rotterdam under the tutelage of Professor Rem Koolhaas. The studio worked with OMA to bring its long-running“Countrysides” project towards it conclusion. Niklas Maak and Sebastien Marot also returned to offer seminars complementing the themes and goals of the studio.
London, United Kingdom | Spring 2018
In the Spring of 2018, students had the unique opportunity to study the history of London with Hanif Kara and Simon Allford to propose ways to reinvigorate the city through the reinvention of the infilled former docks at Canada Water. The studio was complemented by a series of lectures and seminars designed by Kara and Allford, as well as by a seminar by Irene Scalbert entitled “Architecture after Neoliberalism”
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Fall 2017
Professor Rem Koolhaas, the founding partner of OMA and its research-oriented counterpart AMO, once again led his option studio based on his long-term speculative project on radical changes shaping the countryside. Students participating in the studio abroad also took two seminars, “The Invention of the Countryside – A Critical Iconography” taught by Niklas Maak, and “Designing and Managing Worlds in the Countryside” led by Sebastien Marot.
Tokyo, Japan | Fall 2017
The GSD was fortunate enough to once again be able to offer ToyoIto’s option studio abroad entitled Transforming Omishima into a Beautiful Japanese Garden. Kayoko Ota and Mits Kanada taught accompanying seminars, respectively entitled: “Catalyst for Change” and “Tectonic Traditions: Structures and Materials in Japan.”
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Spring 2017
Students who participated in the spring 2017 studio abroad program in Rotterdam had the opportunity to learn under architect and Professor Rem Koolhaas, founding partner of OMA and its research-oriented counterpart AMO. The studio was accompanied by two seminars, led by Niklas Maak and Sebastien Marot.
Tokyo, Japan | Fall 2016
The fall 2016 GSD studio abroad program returned for the third time to Tokyo, Japan, where students studied under architect Toyo Ito, of Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. The studio began on August 29 and concentrated on Omishima Island, an island in the Seto Inland Sea. The studio led by Toyo Ito was entitled Transforming Omishima into a Beautiful Japanese Garden and was accompanied by two seminars, Kayoko Ota led Tokyo on a Crossroads, and Mits Kanada led Structure and Material in Japan. The fall studio in Tokyo took place from August 29-November 22, 2016.
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Spring 2016
The spring 2016 studio abroad program brought GSD students to Rotterdam. Students who participated in the program had the opportunity to learn under architect and Professor Rem Koolhaas, founding partner of OMA and its research-oriented counterpart AMO. The studio Smart Countrysides was accompanied by two seminars, Niklas Maak led Political Landscapes, and Sebastien Marot led Countryside versus Cityside: A Seminar in Environmental History.
Tokyo, Japan | Fall 2015
The fall 2015 GSD studio abroad program returned to Tokyo, Japan, where students learned under architect Toyo Ito, of Toyo Ito & Associates, Architects. The studio began on August 31 and focused on Omishima Island. As is the case with other studio abroad opportunities, the studio was accompanied by two seminars and an optional Independent Study. The fall seminars were led by Kayoko Ota, with her seminar titled The Japan Syndrome, and Mits Kanada, whose seminar was titled Structure and Material in Japan.
Berlin, Germany | Spring 2015
The spring 2015 semester brought GSD students to Berlin, Germany to participate in a studio led by Frank Barkow of Barkow Leibinger, and Arno Brandlhuber of brandlhuber+. The studio, entitled “Poor but Sexy”: Berlin, The New Communal, was accompanied by two seminars: Plattenbau vs. the New Communal. Mass Housing, Alternative Dwelling Models, and a Theory of Shared Spaces in Germany, led by Niklas Maak, and The Urban Architecture of Berlin: From Schinkel to the Present led by Fritz Neumeyer. The spring 2015 studio in Berlin took place from January 31-April 29, 2015.
Basel, Switzerland | Fall 2014
During the fall 2014 semester, students once again had the opportunity to travel to Basel, Switzerland, where they studied with GSD Design Critics Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Herzog and de Meuron are Swiss architects and are founders and senior partners of Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd, and were appointed Arthur Rotch Design Critics in Architecture at the GSD. The studio was accompanied by two seminars: Communicating Architecture, The Planner and Architect as Active Participant in Democratic Processes, led by Lars Müller, and Islands, led by André Bideau. The fall 2014 studio in Basel ran from September 22-December 18, 2014.
Los Angeles, California, USA | Spring 2014
The spring 2014 studio abroad program took a domestic approach. Students traveled to Los Angeles, CA where they studied with architect Michael Maltzan, founder and principal of Michael Maltzan Architecture (MMA), and Mia Lehrer, founder and president of Mia Lehrer + Associates (ML+A). The studio was titled The Possibilities of the Wrong Scale, and sought to explore, through a collaborative effort of architecture and landscape architecture, the potential of producing a more comprehensive set of speculations and proposals that anticipate a future emerging urbanism for Los Angeles. The studio curriculum was accompanied by two seminars: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Hyperreality, led by Neil Leach, and Contested Terriroties: Geopolitics, Media and Design in Southern California, led by Alison Hirsch. The studio took place from January 27-April 28, 2014.
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Fall 2013
During the fall 2013 semester students traveled to Rotterdam, Netherlands where they studied with Professor Rem Koolhaas and completed research that was initiated by the fall 2012 studio abroad cohort in Rotterdam. Rem Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, theorist and urbanist, is Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the GSD and is founding partner of both OMA and of its research-oriented counterpart AMO, currently based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The studio, Elements of Architecture, was co-led by Stephan Trüby, and the studio curriculum was accompanied by two seminars: Islands: The career of a metaphor, led by André Bideau, and The Present Environmental Predicament: Design and the Limits to Growth, led by Sébastien Marot. The fall 2013 studio abroad program took place from September 2–November 29, 2013.
Watch a video about their experiences and find out more about the GSD’s participation in the 2014 Venice Biennale.
Basel, Switzerland | Spring 2013
During the spring 2013 semester, students had the opportunity to travel to Basel, Switzerland, where they studied with GSD Design Critics Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron. Herzog and de Meuron are Swiss architects and are founders and senior partners of Herzog & de Meuron Basel Ltd, and were appointed Arthur Rotch Design Critics in Architecture at the GSD. The studio The City and Energy, a Typolocial Study was accompanied by two seminars: Communicating Architecture, The Architect as Author and Editor, led by Lars Müller, and Islands: The Career of a Metaphor, led by André Bideau. The spring 2013 studio in Basel ran from February 2–May 2, 2013.
Rotterdam, Netherlands | Fall 2012
The fall 2012 semester took GSD students to Rotterdam, Netherlands, where they studied with Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the GSD. Rem Koolhaas is founding partner of OMA, and of its research-oriented counterpart AMO, currently based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The research was continued by the fall 2014 studio abroad cohort and exhibited at the 2014 Venice Biennale. The studio Reconsidering Architecture was accompanied by two seminars: The Present Environmental Predicament: Design and the Limits to Growth, led by Sébastien Marot, and Elements, led by Stephan Trüby. The 2012 fall studio in Rotterdam took place from September 2–November 20.
Watch a video about their experiences and find out more about the GSD’s participation in the 2014 Venice Biennale.
Tokyo, Japan | Spring 2012
The second studio abroad opportunity at the GSD took students to Tokyo, Japan during the spring 2012 semester. Students studied with Japanese architect Toyo Ito, founder of Toyo Ito & Associates and known for creating conceptual architecture. Toyo Ito led his studio, Thinking about Home-for-All in conjunction with two seminars: Evolutionary Productions, led by Yusuke Obuchi, and Metabolic Tokyo, led by Ken Tadashi Oshima. The spring 2012 studio in Tokyo took place from January 22, 2012–April 20, 2012.
Paris, France | Fall 2011
The fall 2011 studio abroad opportunity marked the first of many to come. The program took place in Paris, France where students studied with Anne Lacaton, of Lacaton & Vassal. The studio, Storyboard as Architecture Project, was accompanied by two seminars: Paris: The Design of a Metropolis, led by Antoine Picon, and What Are We Up To? led by Sébastien Marot. The fall 2011 semester in Paris took place from August 27–December 7, 2011.
To learn more about past studio abroad experiences at the GSD visit the Studio Abroad Blog.