FORMS OF COMMONS

Unit 2 - THE INFRAORDINARY Learning from London Tutors - Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone , and Costanza @zesssen , as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons References: -Thomas Demand, Model Studies I & II (2015–2020), Mack Books, 2020 -As Found: The Discovery of the Ordinary, Lars Müller Publishers, 2001 -Irénée Scalbert, The Architect as Bricoleur, Candide: Journal for Architectural Knowledge, no. 4, 2011

Unit 2 – THE INFRAORDINARY Learning from London Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons London unfolds through interiors, infrastructures, temporary arrangements, and small acts of repair. On Caledonian Road, Richard Wentworth reveals the city through everyday improvisations: tied, patched, and repurposed objects become the focus of his depiction of urban life. Students will produce weekly physical outputs while training their gaze on the city. This approach draws inspiration from Georges Perec. In Species of Spaces, the attentive gaze becomes a method for recording the ordinary rooms, streets, staircases, objects, and gestures. Through lists, descriptions, and small inventories, Perec develops a way of analysing space from the inside out, revealing how everyday life quietly constructs the environments we inhabit. These weekly outcomes will gradually build the narrative of a collective scenography at 1:1 scale within the school. Students will transform observations of daily life into space: a system of rooms, conceived as white canvases, will host actions and stories, forming a shared mise-en-scène. References: -Bloomsbury, London, The Images of Architects, Valerio Olgiati -Various Small Fires and Milk (1964), Ed Ruscha -Book cover of Der Spaziergang (1917), Robert Walser -Bloomsbury, London, The Images of Architects, Valerio Olgiati -Exhibition Martin Margiela (2021), Lafayette Anticipations -Installation view, Its Walls, Floors, Ceiling and Window (2019), Richard Venlet -Installation view, Arper pavilion (2022), MAIO Architects -Painting, 4 Color Frame Painting (1984), Robert Mangold -Atlas, Various Motifs (1978), Gerhard Richter

Unit 2 – THE INFRAORDINARY Learning from London Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons In contemporary architectural discourse, urgencies increasingly frame how buildings, cities, and their futures are discussed. While these questions are necessary, they often privilege the quest for answers, leaving less space for attention to everyday life. Our unit proposes a different attitude: to understand care as a practice of looking closely. Observation, of how people live, move, adjust, and inhabit space, will be approached as an architectural act looking into the the familiar, at times unnoticed, environments that quietly structure urban life. Learning from London means learning to notice these conditions, discovering how architecture emerges through the everyday life that takes place within it. References: Excerpt 1: Babylon, Franco Rosso, 1980 Excerpt 2: Ghost Town, The Specials, 1981 Excerpt 3: Blow-Up, Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966 Excerpt 4: Sunny Afternoon, The Kinks, 1966 Excerpt 5: Sunday Bloody Sunday, John Schlesinger, 1971 Music: I Hope The Goats Come Back , Elijah Minnelli

UNIT 2 THE INFRAORDINARY What if architecture began by questioning how we look at things rather than through grand gestures? Our three-week unit explores the infraordinary—the overlooked, the habitual, the everyday. Through careful observation of London’s interiors, infrastructures, temporary arrangements, and small acts of adaptation, we will train our gaze and learn to see with care. London offers particularly fertile ground for this approach. Read from within, the city reveals itself in fragments encountered over time—patterns of life unfolding quietly through repetition and use. From documenting gestures and routines to collectively constructing a full-scale scenography within the school, students will transform daily life into space. A system of rooms, conceived as white canvases, will host actions and stories, creating a shared mise-en-scène. This Unit is lead by FORMS OF COMMONS FORMS OF COMMONS is an architectural practice. Its work is driven by an understanding of architecture as a cultural framework—one that engages with space and form as collective means of knowledge. Chiara Malerba, Margherita Sorgentone, and Costanza Zeni established FORMS OF COMMONS in 2023 while actively teaching and practising, developing an ongoing dialogue between research, education, and design work. #aaschool #aavisitingschool #architectureeducation #architecturalassociation #london

FORMS OF COMMONS EPHEMERAL AGENTS : STAGING EXCEPTIONS *Symposium Speaker -By treating staging as design research, the proposal invites a shift from established practice toward spatial experimentation. -A temporary architectural gesture can act as a lens, calling us to re-see what we thought we already knew about our everyday surroundings. -Can the street become a spatial laboratory where order and disruption reveal how people negotiate space and movement? -Mute columns placed randomly, in clusters and in lines within familiar space provoked movement or avoidance, revealing spatial agency through subtle disruption. -Do fleeting interventions have the agency to expose social patterns, challenge public behaviour, and reframe architectural practice? Photography by Hannah Weisz @hannahchampagner Chiara Malerba, Margherita Sorgentone and Costanza Zeni established FORMS OF COMMONS in 2023 @formsofcommons Ephemeral Agents will take place at Gallery House Zurich @galleryhouse.zurich - Quellenstrasse 27, 8005 Zürich. The programme combines an exhibition of projects selected through Open Call A, and a symposium featuring invited speakers. Thursday 11.12.2025 Exhibition 16:00-23:00 Symposium 18:30-21:00

Unit 5 - Forms of Commons: Staging Exceptions (WIP) Sharing our #wip of the past three weeks at the summer school. From exploring, site-seeing and documenting perceptions to understanding, constructing and staging exceptions. Special thanks to Jacopo Valentini for his talk on „Photography and Staging Exceptions“ @jappivale Lorenzo Gatta for his lecture on „The Column, or How to Rethink the Origins of Architecture“ @gatta_lorenzo Our mid-review guests, Nele Bergmans @nelebergmans , Unit 2 @like_a_gloveee and @helenitasjetsjenita Students Hanyu Yang @wastein_time Luis Lang @luiswildcats2 Pelin Gezer @pelinsgezer Emilia Eggers @emiliaa.caroline Amanda Brundler @amanda.brndl Judi Aldlaigan @jabdullahh Tutors Chiara Malerba @chiara_malerba Margeritha Sorgentone @margheritasorgentone Costanza Zeni @zesssen as @formsofcommons TA Hannah Weisz @hannahchampagner

. HEJDUK / ROSSI NOVECENTO Book launches + Exhibition / 30.05.2025 / 18:30 - 22:00 / Garage, Via Nomentana 331 @openhouse.roma with: Luca Cardani Vincenzo Moschetti @vince.msc (Ab)normal @abnormal_story Alfredo Thiermann @athiermann Atelier Local @atelier___local Forms of Commons @formsofcommons Nebbia @nebbia.works Parabase @parabase.eu Sam Jacob @_samjacob Vector Architects @vectorarchitects curated by: Warehouse of Architecture and Research @jacopocostanzo @da.gall @so_mastrangeli @sofia.otto @ersiliaramazza supported by: @ceresofficial @lemonsoda_it @lorenzomichetts

Unit 5 – FORMS OF COMMONS Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons WEEK 3 In the final week, we will shift our focus to the exterior of the column. How do we ‘dress’ a column? How can its surface—through texture, color, or ornamentation—convey a narrative? By exploring materials such as paper, fabric, or found objects, referencing visual artists and theatrical designers who use surface as narrative, we will investigate various techniques as painting, layering, wrapping, patterning, or scripting, to give the columns their own character and identity. The final exhibition will serve as a showcase of students‘ work and ultimately as a celebration of what we will collectively create within the framework of the AA Summer School, a Staged Exception. References: Image 2: Excerpt from the magazine San Rocco - Happy Birthday Bramante!, 2015 Image 3: Excerpt from the book What is Ornament? by Ambra Fabi, Giovanni Piovene, Lisbon Triennale, 2019 Image 5: Excerpt from the magazine San Rocco - Happy Birthday Bramante!, 2015 Image 8: 3 Colonne 3, Study for air conditioning device, Franco Raggi, 1994 Image 9: Excerpt from the magazine San Rocco - Happy Birthday Bramante!, 2015 Image 10: Student works developed in the MArch Architecture course, Courtesy of Smith & Taylor Studio and Kingston School of Art, London, 2018 Exhibited at What is Ornament? exhibition by Ambra Fabi, Giovanni Piovene, Lisbon Triennale, 2019 picture by Fabio Cunha

Unit 5 – FORMS OF COMMONS Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons WEEK 2 After the field trip, we will return to the AA: the school becomes the site for the students‘ to explore their own staging. Using the same tools developed during the field trip students will begin to observe and document the school itself, looking closely at different spaces: rooms, hallways, staircases, and outdoor areas. How do people move within these spaces? Where do they sit, wait, talk, or gather? These places will become the context for columns installations. Students will begin to built their own full-scale (1:1) column mock-up. The construction will be lightweight and movable, allowing to test different scenographies throughout the school. What happens when a column enters a space? Does it guide movement or interrupt it? Does it change how people behave? The documentation of interventions will be carried out using media chosen by the students. References: Video: Footage of San Satiro by FORMS OF COMMONS Image 1: Plan of Santa Maria presso San Satiro, 1482, Milan Image 2: Plan of The Lloyd’s Building, Richard Rogers & Partners, 1986, London Image 3: Plan of Sainsbury Wing, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, 1991, London Image 4: Plan of Sir John Soane’s Museum, John Soane, 1824, London Music : Flesh And Blood, Cindy Lee

Unit 5 – FORMS OF COMMONS Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons WEEK 1 Our investigation begins with a field trip to visit three architectural case studies in London. During these visits, we will engage in collective discussions and focus on the architectural device element of the column. What role does the column play in each of the three buildings? How can the column shape the perception of spaces or define the expression of the façade? These questions will lead students to develop their your own tools—drawings, photos, videos, writing, sound recordings, or any medium—to observe and understand the three architectural case studies, their relationship with columns, and the spaces they generate. References: Video: Ancient Agora of Athens, Greece, short film in Super 8, Unknown Image 1: The Lloyd’s Building, Richard Rogers & Partners, 1986, London Image 2: Sainsbury Wing, Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, 1991, London Image 3: Sir John Soane’s Museum, John Soane, 1824, London Image 4: Colonne sole, Franco Raggi Image 5: Prometeo, Luciano Fabro, 1986 Image 6: Iza Genzken, Untitled, 1998 Image 7: Il joue un concert Sandwich, Luciano Fabro, 2004 Image 8: Colonne corinzie instabili, Franco Raggi Image 9: Heterogeneous Constructions, Forrest, Schneider, Vobis, 2024 Image 10: Il joue un concert Sandwich, Luciano Fabro, 2004 Image 11: Esprit de géometrie m esprit de finesse, Luciano Fabro, 1984 Image 12: Heterogeneous Constructions, Forrest, Schneider, Vobis, 2024 Image 13: San Rocco - Happy Birthday Bramante!, 2015 Music : Dracula, Cindy Lee

Unit 5 – FORMS OF COMMONS Staging Exceptions Tutors – Chiara @chiara_malerba , Margherita @margheritasorgentone and Costanza @zesssen as FORMS OF COMMONS @formsofcommons Our exploration of the AA Summer School Exceptions investigates the concept of staging as a process of reframing how space is perceived and experienced in architecture. Staging Exceptions is about using architectural elements—such as the column—as tools to intervene and reinterpret everyday spaces. Through spatial gestures, students will activate the built environment, stimulating new forms of interaction, and uncovering overlooked narratives. Our final work will culminate in a series of full-scale (1:1) columns installations to illustrate how staging interventions can reframe the familiar, disrupt the expected, and challenge conventional readings of architecture. References: Excerpt 1: Mobile phone recording of Ornamento e Delitto (A. Rossi, F. Raggi, G. Braghieri, 1973), projected at the Lisbon Triennale, 2019 Excerpt 2: From Russia With Love, Terence Young, 1963 Excerpt 3: Death In Venice, Luchino Visconti,1971 Excerpt 4: Charade, Stanley Donen, 1963 Excerpt 5: La Notte, Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961 Excerpt 6: L’Eclisse, Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962 Excerpt 7: The Dreamers, Bernardo Bertolucci, 2004 Excerpt 8: Nostalghia, Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983 Music : Olive Drab, Cindy Lee

Unit 5, Forms of commons Our unit for the AA Summer School 2025 explores the theme of “Exceptions” through staging—a spatial and visual tool that shifts perception and challenges conventions. Inspired by Donato Bramante’s San Satiro, where an optical illusion overcomes spatial constraints, we examine how staging can reshape architectural and artistic norms. Students will explore five curated “Doubles”, pairing architectural and visual art case studies that manipulate perception, reveal hidden elements, or reframe narratives. These staging themes form the basis for hands-on design explorations. The unit concludes with a collective spatial intervention, where students will design and craft 1:1 architectural elements to redefine movement and space within the AA’s outdoor environments. Acting as both architectural devices and performative elements, the final outcome will blur the boundaries between architecture, installation, and performance, demonstrating how staging can alter space. Through site visits, workshops, and collaborative design exercises, students will explore mirroring, layering, and projection, reimagining the built environment and pushing the limits of conventional design. forms of commons is an architectural practice. Its work is driven by an understanding of architecture as a cultural framework—one that engages with space and form as collective means of knowledge. The project is not a means to affirm authorship or comply with established narratives but an evolving act— shaped by and shaping common legacies. Chiara Malerba, Margherita Sorgentone, and Costanza Zeni established forms of commons in 2023 while actively teaching and practicing, developing a dialogue between research, education, and architectural practice. @formsofcommons @margheritasorgentone @zesssen @chiara_malerba