The Hello Wood Summer School and Festival has expanded over the years to build up a lot of recognition internationally within the architecture community, with previous years having more than 1000 participants from across 70 countries and over 50 universities take part in Hello Wood’s educational event. By looking to the future and adopting an attitude of rebirth, a large part of the 10th anniversary of the festival was about criticism of the stereotypical role of the architect - one that is constrained by expectations and deadlines - while searching for the true superpower of those that want to make a change with a free spirit. Twenty workshops led by a truly global group of professionals helped to celebrate the decennial with their unique takes on the transformation of the architect. As a result of a series of rites and ceremonies that included the building of 20 installations, the week aimed at setting participants free to follow their dreams.
“When we choose to become an architect, we choose creativity, dreams of making a change, colors, humor and a little bit of craziness. In spite of these desires, we end up in an uncomfortable black turtleneck, desperately trying to meet deadlines and expectations, full of self-doubt about our talent and abilities,”
says Peter Pozsar, co-founder of Hello Wood who leads the organisation jointly with András Huszar, David Raday and Krisztian Toth.
“This year, we decided to reverse this and liberate the participants through the framing of a carnival for architects to find their way back to their superpower.”
To achieve this goal, this year’s Summer School and Festival started with an initiation ceremony so participants could free themselves from the stereotypes and some of the dated concepts of an architect and architecture. To symbolise getting rid of these shackles, attendees were asked to bring a black turtleneck, a metaphor of the tight constraints and styles that are so commonplace among architects. Each attendee was asked to remove their turtleneck and attach it to a large wooden frame - located symbolically far from the main action of the week - where they were all displayed for the whole week as a deterrent of the typical attitudes and frustrations that architects must endure daily. This act was symbolic of the creation of a new ‘tribe’ of architects withdrawn from their misplaced and disguised identities, resisting anxiety and embracing the present wholeheartedly, creating an open state of mind where participants could freely create architectural structures.
After the initiation rite, the gathering of students and architects worked over the course of a week on their installations. The construction process was the means for everyone to find their way out of their masked personality as a professional. While searching for the essence of their profession, their approach was twofold: some adopted the strategy of rephrasing a sort of architectural manifesto, others decided to approach the task spiritually and turned towards the world of our ancestors. The latter typically created tribal projects, for instance building a tower of witchcraft using rituals of nature, a portable and communal thatched roof, or a plastered furnace. Others turned towards sacrality, such as a temple devoted to partying or a portable confessional booth built like a sedan chair and a neo-postmodern pantheon where anyone can be the object of worship.
Many of the installations are portable, allowing them to be used as part of a Carnival that took place on the final day. This performative aspect played a large part in the design of the installations, which were often transformative in their nature and in some cases doubled as costumes for the parade.
The festival ended with a communal performance using Hello Wood’s own installation, which had over 100 individual wooden, arched beams held upright by the whole camp. The resulting structure resembled a temple, but one that symbolises what the festival is about. Everyone received a badge depicting a nail, the simplest element of what holds a structure together. People participating also made an oath and committed to the community of free spirits that had formed during the event. “We meant to create the gift of an experience, inviting everyone from the past ten years. It’s a direct symbol of how we could build something together, how important all the people that are participating are,” say the Hello Wood leaders.
In much the same way that a period of Carnival symbolises the end of winter and the start of spring, Hello Wood also envisioned the tenth anniversary of its international summer school and festival as a sort of rebirth for its community. Alongside the development of its permanent plot of land devoted to the festival, Hello Wood is also looking towards the future with its Builder Society concept, which it hopes will grow into a foundation of like-minded individuals wanting to put their energy into doing something for society and the world. In much the same way that Hello Wood and its Summer School and Festival has grown into something far bigger and more impactful than first it began life as, Hello Wood hopes to help the Builder Society to grow into a collective of champions driven by the desire to do something great for the benefit of humankind.
To help understand the values that will power this fledgling community into an ecosystem of devoted warriors and determined do-gooders, we proudly present the Manifesto of Builder Society, which is publicly available (see below).
Cover photo: Carnival March, Balázs Glódi
Photos: Balázs Glódi