In advance of the exhibition opening of Not What, But How at the AA, the student-led Design & Make studio WORKSHOP architecture will present ‘Project Hariharpur’ in an informal event at 7pm on the 8 November. The project took place in partnership with the British Council in India earlier this year with the aim of exploring low-cost, socially sustainable architecture in the context of Hariharpur, a small village in rural Uttar Pradesh. A screening of a short documentary, A Village in a School, will follow a presentation and Vicky Richardson will chair a discussion with the practice and Rob Lynes (Director of British Council India). Join us to hear more about the project over refreshments.  

WORKSHOP architecture is a non-profit design and make studio that focuses on participation, learning by doing and cultivating a deeper understanding of place. Living temporarily within the communities they work with and engaging with local building crafts they aim to bring about an architecture which is both challenging and pragmatic.

Not What, But How explores the studio’s working process, applied during projects carried out in partnership with local organizations and communities in the Philippines and India between 2010-2013, whilst the WORKSHOP architecture team were students at the Architectural Association and the Norwegian University for Science and Technology. An emphasis has been placed not only on final outcomes, but also on the way in which each project was conceived, funded, designed and executed; it’s not only about what was made, but how each building came into being.

The exhibition was first shown in partnership with the British Council in Delhi at the start of Project Hariharpur, when the studio led the construction of a 1:1 material mock-up as part of an AA Visiting School. For its second incarnation here in the Front Members’ Room, WORKSHOP architecture has again invited a team of volunteers to collaborate on a structure that explores design ideas for upcoming projects. In this way, the exhibition spaces in Delhi and London have become sites for local engagement and international dialogue – mirroring the studio’s practice in the field.

Event Information:

AA School of Architecture

New Soft Room

Friday 8 November 19:00

Refreshments provided

RSVP: Emer.Coyle@britishcouncil.org

Exhibition Information:

Front Members' Room

16 November - 14 December

Opening times: Mon-Fri 10:00-19:00, Sat 10:00-15:00