Summerschool 2026

Cities are alive, ‘urban’ is almost a synonym to bustle, movement, encounter. Historically, cities are often situated at crossroads, marketplaces or ports: spaces of encounter. As cities grow these spaces multiply – public spaces pulse with the changes in use between day and night, specific places are full of meaning for the communities that use them, some spaces are out of sight: hidden spaces become meeting spots for young people, a piece of wasteland suddenly becomes a flower garden, a window sill becomes a meeting space…

Space, seasonality, age, use – all these contribute to a network, an ecology of encounter within the city.

• How to capture the stories created in such encounters?
• How to discover the qualities of hidden spaces?
• Can they be designed? How can we shape spaces of encounter?

During this summer school we invite students to learn by doing, to learn from each other and to practice in creating spaces of encounter.

16 students from Ghent will form teams with 16 students from Kanazawa, along a series of tracks – exploring encounters along different scales and practices guided by a teaching team from KU Leuven, Kanazawa Institute of Technology and Kanazawa College of Art.

Results of the workshop will be presented during an exhibition in Ghent in October and in Kanazawa in November.

Participation is free. Deadline is May 31. See attached pdf for more information. You will be selected based on your motivation letter.