Program Description

This spring program offers an intensive two-week course in the interface between disciplines concerned with design of the built environment and scientific disciplines concerned with human perception and behavior. Grounded in the culture of Guadalajara, Mexico, participants will experience the rich cultural landscape of the city, which is the birthplace of the famed architect Luis Barragán, the home of the Tapatia School of Architecture and award-winning contemporary architecture. Participants will be offered tours of buildings by Barragan (including those usually closed to the public) in Guadalajara and Mexico City, and will also tour selected recent works by Mexican masters of landscape, architecture and interior design. The group will be accompanied by a Barragán expert and Moving Boundaries faculty, who knew Barragán personally and who published extensively on Barragán’s work.

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The course follows the first edition of our traveling workshop in Iberia, which took place in Spain and Portugal in July and August of 2022. This second edition in Mexico will feature several new distinguished faculty members, a deeper
investigation of two topics studied in Iberia, multiple interactive sessions centered on participants, embodied learning opportunities during tours in the city, and a focus on teaching practical applications of concepts from human sciences to architectural and interior design. Participants will have a chance to present work and receive feedback during morning sessions. In addition to learning from the faculty and from one another during lectures and discussions, they will practice applying new concepts in design exercises, in interdisciplinary small groups.

This course will feature lectures in which an architect or designer will be paired with a scientist, to promote interaction in a dialogical format. The course is open to architecture and design professionals, including architects, urban planners, landscape architects, interior and product designers, historians of architecture and design, environmental experts, health professionals, researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology and psychology, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students in the above disciplines.

We will learn how scientific concepts and methods can help develop new tools and strategies in design, and how scientific results can contribute to design theory and practice. We will also explore the importance of regional culture and identity in the making and experiencing of architecture. Every participant will receive a Certificate of Completion at the end of the course. Please read our Mission Statement for more information.

Spring course tuition includes all lectures, masterclasses, roundtable discussions, workshops and sketching sessions, Welcome Dinner and Farewell Dinner. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, transportation and meals, with the exception of the two complimentary dinners.  We are honored to host 20 of the most distinguished architects, designers, historians, philosophers, educators, and cognitive scientists in the world. This course will be entirely on-site, although three speakers will join remotely. Course topics include Dynamics of Experience and The World of Senses in architecture, landscape, urban planning and design. The short trip to Mexico City, on April  2  (evening), 3 and 4, is an optional "add-on" to this course. MB will coordinate tours of buildings by Barragan in Mexico City, but participants should arrange own transportation and lodging. Participants also have the option to remain in Guadalajara on April 3 and 4, and they will be offered complimentary tours of recent architecture in the city. There will be free time on April 3 and 4, and all tours are optional.