Studio in the Woods: 20 Years in the Making

An evening to celebrate the past, present and future of SiTW To mark two decades of Studio in the Woods, join us for an evening of discussion, film screening and drinks, tracing the story of the programme from an informal gathering of friends in the woods near Bath to one of the most influential models of hands-on architectural education. This event is being organised in collaboration with the London School of Architecture and the Museum of Architecture. Founder Piers Taylor and guest speakers drawn from across SiTW's 20-year history will look at the genesis of the programme and its evolution, including architects, engineers and tutors who've shaped the workshop over the decades. They will reflect on how a small experiment in “making as a vehicle for ideas” grew, year on year, into the groundbreaking summer initiative. A special screening of Crossing, Lookout, Horizon will showcase the new 14-minute film documenting this year's edition at the AA's Hooke Park campus. Made by three emerging filmmakers - Tong Hao, Jaime Nelson and Hamani Altraiji - through SiTW's filmmaking mentorship scheme, the film follows the construction of three structures over four days, revealing the quiet euphoria of building something real, together, with your hands. After the screening, mentors Nyima Murry and Jim Stephenson, alongside members of this year's cohort, join Piers Taylor and returning guests for a wider conversation about where the programme goes from here. How does a workshop built on having no fixed brief and no manifesto continue to offer architecture a way to shrug off its own orthodoxies, and what might the next 20 years look like?