Neotopia: aprender através da informalidade

Abstract

The participation in the Neotopia design studio of the architect Leopold Banchini, at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio (AAM), provided a confrontation with a different way of seeing, understanding, learning and making architecture. Banchini is a nomadic architect with a deep awareness and sensitivity to the importance of the place and the contingent nature of the construction process, which he transfers into a practice based on experimentation and experienciation. Deliberately ignoring boundaries, he assumes informality as a context and a tool to do research and make architecture. Without false pretences, he declares DIY culture and eclecticism as privileged environments for an emancipatory and different practice. By revisiting the experience of the Neotopia design studio and living through the various challenges presented, the aim is to explain the main themes and the guiding principles of Leopold Banchini's pedagogical methodology.