aura machines

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International conference and research workshop on architectural atmospheres

October 13/14, 2026 • Genoa, Italy (Part I)
December 1, 2026 • Online (Part II)

Organized by Elisabetta Canepa and Riccardo Rapparini

Department of Architecture and Design
University of Genoa

AURA_Program (5.89 MB)
AURA_Booklet (46.9 MB)

Call for contributions
AURA MACHINES is an international conference and research workshop on atmospheres in architecture, organized within the framework of the EU-funded AURA project. The event investigates how the aura of a particular place can be sensed, described, mapped, and interpreted, as well as integrated into architectural thinking and design. 

Bringing together architects, artists, and scholars from a range of disciplines, the conference is centered on a shared site in Genoa, which serves as common ground for fieldwork, reflection, and exchange.

The program is structured in two parts. The first part, convened in Genoa on October 13-14, includes keynote lectures, panels on imaging and designing atmospheres, a collective visit to the case-study area, and field-based workshop sessions. The second part, held online on December 1, features presentations by participants selected through the call for contributions, who will develop their proposals in response to the October activities in Genoa: their contributions engage with the concept of aura from different disciplinary perspectives, using the Genoese site explored in October as the case study through which to articulate and apply their reflections.


Format

 
Part I
On-site conference and workshop
October 13–14, 2026 · Genoa		Part II
Online presentation and discussion
December 1, 2026 · online

The program includes:
 

  • keynote lectures
  • a panel on imaging atmospheres
  • a panel on designing atmospheres
  • a collective visit to the research area
  • field-based workshop sessions

Participants reconvene online to share and review the work
developed after the site visit, in formats including:

  • essays
  • drawings
  • maps
  • audiovisual materials
  • and other experimental representations

Scientific committee
Luca Andrighetto (DISFOR, UniGe)
Laura Avanzino (DIMES, UniGe)
Elisabetta Canepa (DAD, UniGe)
Bob Condia (APDesign, KState)
Anna Fassio (DIMES, UniGe)
Andrea Jelić (KU Leuven)
Martina Putzolu (DINOGMI, UniGe)
Riccardo Rapparini (DAD, UniGe)
Valter Scelsi (DAD, UniGe)

 


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The event is developed within AURA — “Affective Unities: A Site-Specific Research on Architectural Atmospheres,” a research project funded by the European Union as part of the NextGenerationEU program, through the Italian Ministry of University and Research under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Mission 4 “Education and research,” Component 2 “From research to business,” Investment 1.2 “Funding projects presented by young researchers,” ID project MSCA2024_0000009, CUP D33C25000500006.

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