School's Out #29 with Adam Nathaniel Furman & Joshua Mardell

For the 29th edition of School’s Out! on the 25th of November, we had invited Adam Nathaniel Furman and Joshua Mardell, to talk about the research for their latest book "Queer Spaces: An Atlas of LGBTQIA+ Places and Stories". As the Guardian writes: a visually-rich and accessible survey charting the extraordinary diversity of spaces created by and for the queer community throughout the world from the eighteenth century to the present. It features 94 queer spaces, profiled by 55 global interdisciplinary authors, from an ice cream parlour in Havana, to a two-up two-down terrace house in Sheffield. Queer Spaces plugs a crucial gap by offering a vital and proud pedigree for queer existence in the spheres of design and architecture.

WORKSHOP ORNAMENT & ARCHITECTURE
26 NOVEMBER 2022, 11:00 - 16:00.

On Saturday 26 November,  we offered the unique possibility of designing a skyscraper in one afternoon. On the basis of architectural examples from Rotterdams past and other ‘as found’ material, the participants designed their own ornamental program as an alternative to the immense 200 meter tall skyscraper that is being planned in the backyard of our school. Adam supplied us with inspiration in the form of a run through of his kaleidoscopic design work. Together we tried to imagine the future of Rotterdams skyline as one of rainbows and unicorns, acanthus leaves and caryatides.

Programme

School's Out! 25 November
18:00 - 19:00 Doors open, drinks, bites and tunes
19:00 - 20:00 Talk by Adam Nathaniel Furman & Joshua Mardell
20:00 - 20:30 Short film, selected by Jord den Hollander
20:30 - 22:00 Drinks, bites and tunes

Workshop 26 November
10:45 Doors open
11:00 - 12:00 Presentation by Adam Nathaniel Furman + conversation              
12:00 - 12:45 lunch break
12:45 - 16:00 (re)designing the skyscraper

About Adam Nathaniel Furman
Adam Nathaniel Furman is a British artist & designer of Argentine & Japanese heritage based in London. Trained in architecture, they work in spatial design and art of all scales from video and prints to large public artworks, architecturally integrated ornament, as well as products, furniture, interiors, publishing and academia. Their work has been exhibited in London, Paris, New York, Milan, Melbourne, Rome, Tel Aviv, Mumbai, Vienna & Basel, amongst other places, and has been published widely. Adam has taught at several universities amongst which Central St Martins and the AA in London the AA. They is a published author, a vocal advocate for diversity and representation in architecture, urbanism and design, and has been a judge for the Dezeen and FRAME awards.

About Joshua Mardell
Dr. Joshua Mardell is a historian primarily of modern British architecture, post-1800, and is interested in disciplinary reflection and revisionism, in broadening inclusion in architecture and its histories. He is a Research Tutor, and head of the MRes Architecture degree at the Royal College of Art. He is also a co-editor of the Journal of Architecture, a Research Fellow at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, and active in the LGBTQIA+ network of the Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain.