This spring program, focused on Environmental/Architectural Design and Health offers an 8-day course and retreat at the interface between disciplines concerned with design of the built environment and scientific disciplines concerned with human perception and behavior. This Moving Boundaries 2025 program is dedicated to the work of Portuguese Architects Alvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura, and to the architectural historian and critic, Kenneth Frampton, whose writings have been a driving force for Moving Boundaries since our opening program in 2022. Professor Alvaro Siza Vieira joined our MB Faculty in Porto, in summer of 2022. 

 

This course and retreat is sold out. The Program will feature a series of Lectures and Masterclasses, Workshops, Tours in the Minho Wine Region and Porto, Dinners, Film Screenings,  Poetry Readings,  Stone Workshops, Sketching, Networking and more. We will gather for this forum and "think-tank", a new format for MB, to live together at the Pousada in Amares, Santa Maria do Bouro, 12th Century monastery restored and designed by Pritzker-Prize winning architect, Eduardo Souto de Moura and at Pousada Geres. Lectures, transcripts of debates, and contributions of all attendees will be included in the publication MBX Manifesto: Design for Health and Wellbeing. 

 

Grounded in the culture of the Minho region, participants will experience the rich cultural context of Northern Portugal, including the dynamic city of Porto, which holds many treasured works of architecture and landscape design including those by Alvaro Siza Vieira and Eduardo Souto de Moura. Participants will be offered tours of work by these two architects and will also enjoy day trips in the Minho wine region and in Porto and Matosinhos.  

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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, the second edition which took place in Guadalajara, Mexico, the third edition in Italy which featured several new distinguished faculty members, a deeper
investigation of two topics studied previously, multiple interactive sessions centered on participants, embodied learning opportunities during tours and sketching workshops in the city, and a focus on teaching practical applications of concepts from human sciences to architectural, lighting and interior design. Recently, we held our fourth edition in Stockholm and Helsinki in August 2024. At MB Amares, 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 presentations and discussions, they will work in small groups in the afternoons, to integrate ideas and to prepare notes towards specific applications and strategies in design according to the three course topics. We will also enjoy a rich cultural program in mornings and evenings, focused on physical and spiritual health and wellbeing for our entire retreat community. A wide range of networking opportunities is offered, including the Welcome Dinner with live music, coffee breaks, day trips and excursions, cultural programs, talent show and more. 

 

This course and retreat will feature presentations in which an architect or designer is paired with a scientist, to promote interaction in a dialogical format. All participants are invited to present and to contribute to the future publication. The course is open to design professionals, including architects, urban planners, landscape architects, lighting, interior and product designers, historians of architecture and design, artists, environmental experts, health professionals, educators, researchers in neuroscience, cognitive science, sociology, anthropology and psychology, as well as graduate and postdoctoral students in the above disciplines.

At MB Amares we will learn how scientific concepts and methods can help develop new tools and strategies in design and design education. We will also explore the importance of history, 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.

 

For MB Amares, spring course and retreat tuition includes all lectures, roundtable discussions, workshops, rental of buses for the Porto field trip and the Welcome Dinner. Participants are responsible for their own lodging, transportation, and meals, with the exception of the complimentary dinner on March 22, and (optional) tour tickets. MB has obtained a generous group discount for lodging at both Pousadas, which is passed on to the entire audience. MB has coordinated all tours for the group and obtained group discounts where possible. This course will be held in English, entirely on-site. Course topics will include Embodiment, Dynamic Multisensory Experience and Emotion in Architecture and Interior Design, Design for Health and Wellbeing, Neurodiversity, Placemaking and Community. Look for updates on the MB Amares Program page on this site. 

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