hello everybody,

hopefully everybody recovered from new year, i spent mine in a real dutch "vinex"house, very interesting....

i got a question:

i am an editor for the magazine of my ark faculty, we have five issues a year, all based around a central theme... last year we had among others boredom, neighbours and shopping.

our next theme is holiday, with articles about architects holidays', history of the caravan and airport design...

and also an article about easa.

i'm not lazy, but i think it would be fun to make it an article with impressions from people who attended an easa, and pieces of promotion from other countries in europe...

if anybody has something written down, or would like to write something down (we are talking about delft here ;-)) it would be "most" appreciated by me and my fellow editors, whom i had to convince it was not going to be an advertisment for easa (would cost me a lot of money...)

thanks in advance

marten.nl

Hello,

first I want to say I am very happy easa still exists and keeps going strong. It seems a long time ago, being a "professional" for almost ten years now, and having participated in an easa as "cro-magnon" as Marseille - héritage et créativité. Easa has formed me as a person - through workshops, travels and even co-organizing one. But what formed me most was the people I met and spoke to. About architecture, politics, life, children, anything you can think of. Architecture won't change the world. People can do so... The mere thought of bringing together all these students and interests is very powerfull already. It is good that a new team, ever evolving, is taking on a new easa every year. There will always be newcomers and veterans, as in the "real" world. But easa will also always spark new ideas and international contacts and understanding, which might be the most important factor in the easa movement. Getting to know that people from abroad are also just people. That the only place where borders exist is man's mind. That you are living good memories.

Please keep the spirit and don't institutionalize. There are already far too much institutions around. Play and enjoy!

Yours,

Iwert.

some thoughts ... [as a reponse to jerome's and dunk's post]

Set into the world in 81, easa is a monster, a body without organs …. Everchanging, rhizomatic, always on the quest for its own identity, always struggling with itself for its sense, living at the edge to a Club-Med-like kindergarden for architecture students and still aiming at raising its awareness and quality level.

It’s often a precarious balance – people complaining about it’s easy going and thinking it to be just a pretext for having fun and internationl flirts (they did so already 20 yrs ago).

Though it is still alive and unique – as far as I know – in its form. Right in the early eighties – far before the internet era, they talked about networking. Far before eMails and chats and blogs they did so by snail-mail and fax.

It is a beast – the head in the clouds but feet on the ground. For being set up every year by a new team, being confronted to the same logistical and organisational probs anew, it is a fact that knowledge transfer from one year to the other might be the major lack. The beast’s memory is short. Three to four years at best – as long as the “dinosaurs” stick to it. There is nearly no “best practice”, no long term experience of more experienced members like in a firm that always grows and builds and expands[*].

Just the “easa-guide”, a document hardly read by even the NCs or organizers, holds grasp of the past practical experiences. The monster’s weakness might be one of its strengths. The same problems are always thought over anew – sometimes with astonishing results. It gives orga-teams the chance to experience an always unique and new experiment.

As such, paces of “evolution” towards a higher professionality are hard to take. Whilst they’ve been claimed for nearly right from the start in the 80s, it would need a more institutionalised EASA to do so. The monster would be compelled getting organs, a skeleton, with professiona archiving, knowledge transfer, it would need to become a kind of firm, an agency or foundation with a registered trademark, a corporate image and design, its lawyer and accountant.

But it would loose its soul of experimental “from students for students” alter-academical character, and maybe even it's spirit?

cheers aLx_Be

ps: this is an invitation to all that feel concerned to read the easa guide - as stated at the incm_bgd - and the archive ... matter of lenghten easa's short memory ;-) [*] which is actually a typical ark's problem: always starting from zero, a scratch when designing ... whereas some migt think "aren't the housing probs all the same? why always start from zero?" .... others might think that this is what makes designs unique ...

Today's debate about prospects of existence of independent youth movement (including movement of students-architects) in Belarusian national youth council have put me in a discomfiture.

In Belarus in the near future probably mass pressure upon public and youth independent sector. For this reason for me there is a question on a present role of the BASA in Belarus as unique for today to the professional student's organization. To disappear and work illegally or to come under influence of authority. And whether the organized movement of students-architects is necessary?

Under that small information on the student's organizations of architects in Europe I can tell with confidence, that experience which is received by us here, is very unique. And it at all because of a specific political situation. Fathers-founders of the BASA thought about another… But actually it is very difficult to work, when you understand, that you hardly probable not one do something for development of movement of students-architects, when there is no a good example to be guided or compare, when itself it is necessary to develop strategy of work with state, public and business by sector. And then there comes time when you come in impasse and cannot understand sense of all work therefore as nobody can support you. In fact all around is a dust.

The life forces to reflect on many problems.

I think the minus of EASA that it only club. For these years something has not been created essential. The exit on the international level puts new problems to which the assembly cannot be ready as club, informal movement.

It is possible to go all life on parties and to not understand deep sense.

When in 1993 it was created the BASA founders thought that registration EASA in more concrete organizational student's structure at a level of Europe will soon follow, that movement of students - architects in all Europe will develop more actively. I think, this light idea suffers defeat, the hope disappears, as the spirit disappears also.

I am as the student-architect very much disturbed with movement of students-architects. And I try to understand, that is EASA in a present kind, whether there is a readiness to develop as its future depends on it.

In infinite reflections, Zmitser

moved by admin
posted by duncan, Thursday, 26. June 2003, 11:39

EASA rocks, but it could be a whole lot more. what happened in liverpool in 81 seemed like an amazing thing, people fed up with the bad state of things, coming together and DOing stuff

it was political in the sense that people came togehter to really do stuff, challenge the existing system, try to create something special and new

it seems though EASA has got quite lazy, going to islands and having a nice time is great, how far have we progressed?

in the meantime the world of architecture is lost, sustainability is talked about in only a trendy way

theres a lot of exciting stuff going on in the world at the moment, and for whatever reasons, EASA, which should be a really progressive creative force for positive change, does little and says nothing to the world

denmark this summer, is an attempt to get DOing stuff again, i hope those that go, enjoy it, love it, meet amazing people and have a great holiday, but i hope it doesent stop there

i hope people really take on the work, and with that turn EASA into an alltime community, a network that communicates with each other and does things all year, explores the full potential of what we could be doing, develops informed opinions and gives the closed world of architecture the kick up the arse that it needs so bad

whats stopping you, why are you being boring, get invovled,

www.indymedia.org.uk is my attempt to get EASA more involved with the rest of the world

so EASA......

hello, i'm lenny, i have found easa.antville and i need to know which is the main purpose of this forum? is there a final goal? let's say: creating a new political philosophy? or: creating a cleaner environment by collecting funds or something like Green Peace (well,i know it will be hard to compete with them!) i'm wondering if this forum can make it this way? i'm looking for ideas ...practical ideas to save the environment because this is a high priority problem in my vision. rgds lenny

The European Architecture Students Assembly (EASA) is a platform for exchange of ideas and knowledge for European students of architecture. This is achieved primarily by the EASA – Summer Assembly and also by the SESAM – Small European Students of Architecture Meeting, and the INCM – Intermediate National Contact Meeting. Easa is not an established organisation but a non-political and non-profit network aimed at bringing people together. The essence of the easa, since it´s beginning in Liverpool in 1981, is maintained by the ‘easa spirit’ - easy to feel but difficult to describe.

You want more info about easa? Read the easa guide...