Location: Dunas de Liencres Natural Park, Quebrada Coast and Picota Hill

The Workshop takes advantage of its unique location at the centre of Dunas de Liencres Natural Park, the largest protected natural area on the north coast of Spain. A mix of green and blue landscapes, it has five different beaches located within 10 minutes’ walking distance of the Workshop: Somocuevas, Valdearenas, Canallave, La Arnía and El Madero. The River Pas estuary, the Liencres Pine Tree forest, the Quebrada Coast area and the Picota Hill area are also located within the Natural Park, all within walking distance. In the evenings, different activities and trips provide the opportunity to discover this special location.

In parallel, part of the Workshop exercises take part in the surrounding areas, using materials collected from the forest and beaches and through direct interaction with the landscape.

Do you want to discover the world of Modelmaking while staying in a Natural Park in the North of Spain? Join us!

*All our workshops are adapted to comply with Covid-19 measures, including smaller and more exclusive groups, mandatory use of mask and face shields, social distancing and regularly disinfection of tools and materials.

Atelier La Juntana, in collaboration with the Architecture Official College of Cantabria and the Polytechnic University of Madrid, is organising the fifth edition of the summer workshop ‘Model Making in the Digital Age’ for architects (both students and professionals) and makers willing to investigate and discover different techniques and materials, while developing an architectural model. The workshop will particularly observe the relationship between traditional craft and digital design. Led by architects Armor and Nertos Gutiérrez Rivas, along with interdisciplinary artist Daniel Gutiérrez Adán, the next workshops will take place at Atelier La Juntana, located in Santander, Spain. Both beginners with little prior experience and those with specific professional interests are invited to participate.

The workshop is a full-time course, starting at 09.30am and finishing at 5.30pm each day, with a total of 56 learning hours. Each participant will have his or her own working space; access to Wi-Fi and the library, printer and plotter; a resting area in the garden; and access to a small kitchen. The booking fee includes all practical materials, an instructional publication and pick-up service from Santander. Accommodation in the surroundings of the workshop can also be provided upon request. The course is recognised by the Polytechnic Architecture University of Madrid as part of the University Programme, and students are granted 2 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) upon completion.

The course is taught across a series of short exercises combining theory and practice, through which students are challenged to solve a given brief by means of making. Varying in scale and duration, the exercises will be conducted through direct experimentation and manufacturing, and will include techniques such as embossing, etching, carving, moulding, and casting, making the students aware of the production time and process.

Atelier La Juntana

Polytechnic University of Madrid

Architecture Official College of Cantabria

The Architectural Model as a Key Part of the Design Process

Far from being overshadowed by the digital era, physical models reclaim, today more than ever, their place as a key element during the architectural process: from urban to interior design, public consultations and exhibitions, and even for interaction with the visually impaired.Utilised throughout all the phases of the design, from the early stages to final 1:1 scale mock-ups, physical models help us to visualise ideas, explain concepts, foresee problems and investigate solutions. Understood as an element on the borderline between craftsmanship and digital production, architectural models combine art and technical skills, reaching a result which is not a mere reproduction of the idea, but a unique creation itself.

This workshop is an introduction to the world of Model Making, embracing its different applications, scales, materials and techniques, while encouraging the research and discovery of new ways of making and representing the architectural model through a combination of fine arts and digital production.

Craftsmanship of the Digital Object

What is the meaning of craftsmanship in the Digital Age? The impact of an information society, presumably dehumanised, makes us reconsider the role of craftsmanship as a human action. To what extent can the process of making help us confront the lack of identity and increasing dehumanisation of modern production? In the Digital Era, the everyday object is masked behind a technological veil, which places the product in a world foreign to our own, transforming the object into a standardised catalogue option to be used and discarded without us being part of the making process.

To preserve the essence of objects, it seems necessary to understand the process behind them. It is learning from this process, and not the end result, which provides us with the necessary tools to comprehend the “why” and “how” of production techniques, allowing us to choose, recreate and improve the learnt method in our future practice.

Workshop facilities and equipment

The Workshop is separated into three different areas: the working space, where all the handling equipment is located; the research area, with access to computers, Wi-Fi and the library; and the resting area, with sleeping and cooking facilities. In addition, certain activities take place in the garden surrounding the Workshop.

-Carpentry and wood workshop

-Ceramic, clay and plaster workshop

-Slip casting workshop

-Metal melting and casting workshop

-Mould-making and resin-casting workshop

-Photography and cyanotype workshop

-Engraving and press printing workshop

-Glass workshop

-Vacuum-forming workshop

-Laser cutting studio

-3d printing studio

Workshop Objectives