‘It was never there and it’s already vanishing’ – W. S. Mervin, ‘Before That,’ Poetry, 1968

The locus of architectural thought and education has always been the building; the building as a complete object, with a logic, rhythm and sensibility of its own. Historically, this view has significantly shifted towards an understanding of architecture in the context of the city, centralising concerns regarding infrastructure, complexity and growth, and connecting mainstream architectural discourse more deeply to other fields including sociology, geography and economics.

Architecture is now at a point where it must make another profound shift – not only in how we practice but how we think, expanding from the urban to the territorial, from the limits of the city to the limits of the planet. We need to think critically, openly and fearlessly about our role in the world and become increasingly polymathic: able to mediate information from an ever more diverse set of sources; able to act decisively within an ever more complex set of realities.

We will work with our feet firmly on the ground in Glasgow, Scotland: an extraordinary city, full of difficult, abundant life. We will ask students to think expansively, but first and foremost to take the local context seriously and to develop a relationship with its social, religious, cultural and political character, as well as a feeling of its day-to-day life. We will be hands-on and proactive, always foregrounding critical reflections on our own experiences over desk-based research. We will work deeply within Assemble’s existing networks across the city, particularly with those in the East End. Pack a sleeping mat, a thermos and a raincoat, and join us.