</a> AA Visiting School - Las Pozas, Mexico (click for video)[/caption]
Ahead of a visit to West Dean College later in the year by Umberto Bellardi Ricci (one of the Directors of the Architectural Association's Visiting School in Las Pozas, Mexico), here is a link to a short film documenting the AAVS's most recent event, which took place during the summer. AAVS Las Pozas is an experimental concrete workshop set in the Mexican jungle every August. It’s mainly based inside Edward James' Las Pozas Gardens in Xilitla, SLP; and is part of the Visiting School Programme of the AA School of Architecture in London.
On the grounds of minimalist sculpture, pre-hispanic monumentalism and geometric abstraction, this years' workshop concluded with a number of concrete pieces and fragments that were developed by a thorough study of Edward James' intricate wooden formworks, de-fragmenting and collaging moulds and casts, experimenting with local aggregates and incorporating contemporary techniques.
More information on Umberto's visit to West Dean to discuss the Visiting School and Edward James-as-architect coming soon.
<a href="http://laspozas.aaschool.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">laspozas.aaschool.ac.uk/</a>
<a href="http://vimeo.com/107101549" target="_blank">Film</a> by Alex Ezpeleta
Programme Directors: Carlos H. Matos, Umberto Bellardi Ricci and Kanto Iwamura.
Participants: Stefan Jovanovic, Emerald Mosley, Haruka Abe, Kenji Takeda, Sotaro Takahashi, Yoshifumi Hashimoto, Mayuko Horiuchi, Paloma Iturriaga, Alejandro Madero, Karla Garza Diaz, Gabriela Lopez Dena, Jane Horacio, Chiyan Ho and Pengfei He.