FestivaL'and | Valmiera, Latvia

Students of architecture, urban design and related disciplines are invited to the Summer School of Ephemeral Architecture and Spatial Design “FestivaL’and 6.0” in 2025. Summer course is organized as a cooperation between Art Academy of Latvia, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Design and Architecture, RISEBA Faculty of Architecture and Design and International Culture Association creative collective CAMPOSAZ.

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The first application round for foreign participants seeking scholarships (10 places available) will open soon. 

Summer school dates: June 25 – July 5, 2025 (arrival June 24, departure Aug 6)
Duration: 11 days
Location: Valmiera, Valmiermuiža, Latvia / indoors and outdoors
Type of summer course: with overnight accommodation
Languages of instruction: Latvian and English

THINK! DESIGN! BUILD! “FestivaL’and” is a DesignBuild summer course to go beyond the academic knowledge getting out of the classroom into the physical world of design and construction for city users of all generations. The participants led by design and architecture professionals will generate ideas, design, and learn crafts of construction to create and build an instant spatial framework as an audiovisual adventure and part of Valmiermuiža culture program.

The summer school is devoted to the idea of the contemporary ephemeral architecture and urban design elements as catalysts for important processes in the society, urban environments, perception, and usability of the city. During the summer school, participants will gain knowledge, skills and experience in the process of design creation from research, ideation, tectonic experimentation to 1:1 scale hands on construction.

After completion of the course participants will receive certificate and ECTS.

Curator of the summer school:
Dina Suhanova, dina.suhanova@lma.lv

Valmiera is the largest city in the Vidzeme planning region. In the context of Latvia, it is considered as a development city with strong traditions of the production and industry, a considerable cultural heritage, and history.

Valmiera is one of the oldest cities in Latvia founded in about 1283. It is the former Hanseatic city, ruined by wartime of 20th century, and therefore missing the presence of the historical center in the urban fabric. Valmiera is the administrative, educational, cultural and sports center of the Vidzeme region. As it is a city with a true entrepreneurial spirit, Valmiera is also the center for economic development of the region.

Area of the city – 19,35 km².
Population – 24 750 (data from the year 2021). 
Distance to Riga – 115 km.