Young Talent Exhibition in Varna

The City in Motion, the pilot edition of Amorpha Urban Architecture School by Amorpha Foundation, will discover the dynamic nature of urban space by exploring the topic “The City in Motion”. On focus is Varna, Bulgaria’s largest coastal city, with its multifaceted architectural layers while drawing parallels to the coastal cities of Burgas, London, Hamburg and Barcelona. 

Formats. Engaged in lectures, workshops and on-site activities, the participants will have the task to propose interventions in four public locations in Varna to be presented to a small audience towards the end of the training programme. 

Trainees. The school is particularly designed for university students or young professionals in architecture and related disciplines, as well as for final-year secondary school students planning to enrol in a similar university programme upon graduation (17-29 years). 

Approach. The city will be examined and analysed as an organism that embodies architectural aspects from various historical and conceptual perspectives and belongs simultaneously to the Bulgarian immovable cultural heritage, the distinctive architecture of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast and the global modernity shaped by multidisciplinary, ecological, technological and social practices. 

In this context, the school will explore the potential of urban spaces and propose infrastructural interventions – ecosystems for urban and cultural life. 

Strategic networking. Two strategic working meetings will also take place aimed at both networking and understanding the role of key stakeholders in architecture and urban development. In the first one, the trainees will meet the Deputy Chair of the Bulgarian Architects’ Union and Chair of the Union’s branch in Varna, arch. Nikolay Rachinski. The second meeting will be with the Chief Architect of Varna, arch. Viktor Buzev. 

Exhibitions. Two architecture and public space exhibitions will open on the final evening of the school. 

A display in public space will showcase winner projects of the EUmies Awards – Young Talent, part of the prestigious EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards. The display is organised in partnership with Fundació Mies van der Rohe. 

A retrospective exhibition will feature a special selection from ‘Black Sea Architecture of the 1970s – The New Heritage’, an ambitious project by our partners at Varna Design Forum. It will take place at Amorpha Cultural Space. 

Organisers. Amorpha Urban Architecture School is organised by Amorpha Youth Foundation – Bulgaria and supported by Varna Municipality Culture Fund. Partners and collaborators: Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Goethe Institute Bulgaria, Varna Heritage Archive Website, Varna Design Forum. 

LECTURERS 
Arch. Monika Marinova 
• Director of the School 
• Winner of EUmies Awards Young Talent

Maria Badjakova 
• Founder of the School 
• Director of Amorpha Youth Foundation and an established organiser of cultural initiatives in urban environment 

Arch. Anna Ramos 
• Director of Fundació Mies van der Rohe – organiser, jointly with the European Commission, of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards and of Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA) 
• University teacher 

PhD Kirsten Hackenbroch 
• Urbanist 3 AMORPHA URBAN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL • AMORPHA YOUTH FOUNDATION https://amorphaarchitecture.org • contact@amorphaarchitecture.org • +359 (0)889305824 
• Director of Goethe Institut – Bulgaria 

Prof. PhD Arch. Rositsa Nikiforova 
• Cultural heritage expert 
• Long-time university lecturer 
• Co-founder of the “Architecture” course at New Bulgarian University, Sofia 
• Co-founder of the “Design for Architectural Environment” course at Varna Free Univeristy 
• Chairperson of “Varna Design Forum” 

Arch. Irina Eftimova 
• Specialist on cultural heritage and author of the register Varna Heritage 

GUESTS 
Arch. Nikolay Rachinski 
• Deputy-chairperson of the of the board of directors of the Union of Architects in Bulgaria 
• Chairperson of Union of Architects in Bulgaria – Branch Varna 
Arch. Viktor Buzev 
• Chief architect of Varna 

Follow-up activities 

October 2024: Lectures at Varna Free University, Architecture Department, by the school’s director and YTAA winner arch. Monika Marinova and the school’s founder and Amorpha Foundation Director Maria Badjakova. YTAA 2020-2023 Winner Exhibition opening at the school (duration: 1 week). 

October 2024: Lectures at the Professional School of Building Architecture and Geodesy “Vasil Levski”, Varna, by the school’s director and YTAA winner arch. Monika Marinova and the school’s founder and Amorpha Foundation Director Maria Badjakova. 

November 2024: Lectures at Varna Technical University, Industrial Design Programme, by the school’s director and YTAA winner arch. Monika Marinova and the school’s founder and 4 AMORPHA URBAN ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL • AMORPHA YOUTH FOUNDATION https://amorphaarchitecture.org • contact@amorphaarchitecture.org • +359 (0)889305824 

Amorpha Foundation Director Maria Badjakova. Young Talent 2020-2023 Winner Exhibition opening at the school (duration: 1 week). 

November 2024: Lectures at Professional School of Building Architecture and Geodesy “Kolio Ficheto”, Burgas, by the school’s director and YTAA winner arch. Monika Marinova and the school’s founder and Amorpha Foundation Director Maria Badjakova. YTAA 2020-2023 Winner Exhibition opening at the school (duration: 1 week).