SPQR Fellowship

Ciao! Summer Term Design Abroad Moves to Siracusa, Sicily

STUDY ABROAD FOR UMN ARCH STUDENTS is evolving. Beginning in 2021, The College of Design is using Siracusa, Sicily as their summer term home base. As stated in the UMN Design in Sicily web page: “Use the coastal town of Siracusa, Sicily as inspiration and context for your design courses. Engage in the design process with local and international designers through intensive design workshops, observe the Italian workforce and delve into the Italian culture as an intern at a local company. “

2500 years ago, Siracusa was a Greek colony outpost and home to Archimedes. It is now home to MADE Academy of Fine Arts and the Syracuse Academy, the local partners in program housing and coursework

In mid May 2022, Professors Gayla Lindt and Eric Amel accompanied 28 students -including 11 architecture majors; returning in mid July. The eight week, nine credit program included classes in Image Making, Design Workshops, Italian and an internship.

Working with Gayla and Eric, the SPQR Fellowship sponsored a Sketchbook Prize this year. The Image Making students were keeping a daily sketchbook. The competition was based on their work done on a one day trip to the towns of Noto and Moderna. Both towns have wonderful baroque cathedrals.

The students submitted a minimum of one drawing plus a statement about their approach. Cheryl Fosdick (SPQR 1987 and Kenneth Smith juried the submissions on ZOOM with input from Gayla and Eric. Anna Dresang and Tomer Ran-Ressler were co-winners of the $1500 competition.

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TOMER RAN-RESSLER STATEMENT

The experience of drawing in situ during this program has transformed the way I think about capturing a space at a moment in time. Observing a place over time as I draw allows me to capture it more holistically. At a certain moment, one detail may suddenly stand out in a way that does not occur when you draw from a photo where everything reads on the same flat plane. This inspires me to think about how versatile architecture can operate differently at different moments and for different people. For me, this means thinking about how a space can exist as a beautiful singular moment, but also how the way it evolves over time and the way people move through it can be especially interesting. The rich architectural landscape of the cities I have visited in Sicily have inspired me to think about the importance of place and scale. I have found that my most successful architectural drawings are those that focus not just on a singular building but on the environment of the place as a whole. This makes me consider how valuable it is for architects to not only consider a singular building design but how a new design will fit into the overall urban fabric. This experience makes me want to take my future practice beyond the design of singular buildings and work towards understanding how a sequence of places or spaces can create variable and enriching moments of experience.

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ANNA DRESANG STATEMENT

On the trip to Modica and Noto, I wanted to focus not on any individual building but on traveling through the city. My first drawing, I was captivated by how the cathedral of Saint George is so prominently visible throughout the city. I chose a view from an alley in which the dome just peaks over the roof to illustrate this. The ground and sky plane are bolded to both articulate the domes place in the scene and provide a contrast between the heavy walls of the alley and the light details of the dome. Reflecting on this drawing on my way to Noto, I wanted to put more emphasis on movement through space. Upon arriving, I documented by travels down the Main Street. Starting in front of Chiesa di San Domenico. I traveled down the street, through the Porta Reale o Ferdinandea and tree lined boulevards to where the city sharply ends at a cliff. These drawings were done very quickly, and entirely done standing up in the five spots I chose to stop. I enjoy using this technique to quickly capture not only the physical characteristics of the space, but how I perceive and experience the city.