Overview
The second edition of SF(a) – Society. Film. Architecture was held in Iași, June–July 2023, continuing the transdisciplinary exploration of architecture through the lens of science-fiction cinema. After the inaugural edition in 2022, which established the workshop as an innovative space for collaborative learning, Season 2 expanded its scope and audience. The chosen film, Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927), served as entry points for critical reflection on Modernism, the major architectural paradigm that shaped the 20th century.
Locations & Partners
Activities were organised at the “G.M. Cantacuzino” Faculty of Architecture (TUIASI) and FABLAB Iași, in partnership with the Faculty of Visual Arts and Design (UNAGE), ASAI – the Student Association of Architects in Iași, and OAR Iași.
Participants
Season 2 registered a significant growth in participation compared to the first edition: 65 students and graduates from architecture, visual arts and design, and literature, together with young architects in training. The diversity of participants encouraged collaborative exchanges across disciplines and stimulated new approaches to film-based architectural critique.
Programme & Activities
The programme was built around four main types of activities:
- Film screenings & debates – opening with discussions on architecture as a narrative tool;
- Public lectures – delivered by guests from architecture, visual culture, and literature, exploring the social, cultural, and ideological dimensions of Modernism and Postmodernism;
- Workshops & tutorials – practical sessions on graphic representation using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, where students produced alternative posters interpreting cinematic architectures;
- Final exhibition & round-table – showcasing the posters and critical reflections, with debates on the outcomes.
Guest Speakers
The second edition featured a strong international and local panel, including:
- Federico Babina – Italian architect and illustrator (Barcelona, online lecture);
- Viola Ruhse – curator and researcher, University of Continuing Education, Krems, Austria;
- Anca Horvath – architect and researcher, RELATE Lab, Aalborg University, Denmark;
- Emanuela Ilie – literary critic, Faculty of Letters, “Al. I. Cuza” University of Iași;
- Matei Bejenaru – artist and professor, Faculty of Visual Arts and Design, UNAGE Iași;
- Vlad Enculescu – internationally active designer.
Exhibition & Results
The creative workshops resulted in a series of alternative posters, exhibited both at the Faculty of Architecture and later at FABLAB Iași in an itinerant format. The works critically reinterpreted the imagery of Blade Runner and Metropolis, highlighting their architectural and ideological dimensions.
Dissemination & Impact
Season 2 consolidated SF(a)’s visibility beyond the local context. Results were presented in international conferences(UN-DISCIPLINARY, Aalborg; QUESTIONS, Cluj), round-tables (InterdisciplinARH, Iași), and exhibitions (MUST – Architects in the Community, Iași; InterdisciplinARH, Iași). The itinerant exhibition of Season 2 posters was also showcased in August 2023 at FABLAB Iași.
Core Vision
Season 2 questioned how architecture reflects and constructs collective futures: the utopian promises of Modernism. The edition reinforced SF(a)’s role as a laboratory of critical pedagogy, where cinema becomes a tool to decode architectural narratives and to foster creative, collaborative, and analytical skills among students and young practitioners.