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31 Aug – 06 Sep 2026
Cuneo, Italy
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Turin
Carignano
Vicoforte
Mondovì
All throughout history, humanity has fantasized about what an aerial gaze from high above might look like. Since the beginnings of aeronautics and later astronautics, imagination gave way to new concrete possibilities of perceiving space from above and afar. Yet this Aerial Spatial Revolution, set into motion by different media and technologies, goes beyond a mere engineering achievement; it has also profoundly transformed the way we understand, survey, control, represent, plan and practise space. This mental and material shift intrinsically involves the production and application of new images, data and techniques.
From aircrafts to satellites, from lenses to sensors, from paper to screen, the emergence of aerial views and the movement in the third dimension thoroughly impact our notion of space, time and artifacts. The Summer School AeroSpaces. Spatial Practices in Architecture and Urbanism explored the implications of the view from above in architecture, urban design, art, society, science and technology at the interface of planning, philosophy and politics by asking some of the following questions:
- What does it mean to perceive and observe from above?
- What is the impact of the view from above (and below) in architecture, urbanism and visual arts?
- What images are generated, how are they collected, systematised, read and used?
- How does the imagery affect our thinking of the earth, bodies and space and the relationships between air and land?
The Summer School integrated research, dialogue, and public engagement, bringing together scholars from different disciplines, institutions, and countries. The week’s program included presentations, workshops, site excursions, archive visits, and evening lectures, fostering both discourse on theoretical concepts of aerial spatiality and critical engagement with various research methodologies, as well as hands-on explorations of space and architecture. These activities created an inspiring and productive environment for interdisciplinary exchange between early-career and established researchers. Participants were invited to reflect on how space is perceived, represented, experienced, and conceptualized from above while reconsidering conventional disciplinary frameworks within their own research approaches.
With his introductory lecture The Emergence of Aerial Visuality, Davide Deriu addressed the guiding themes of the Summer School and situated “AeroSpaces” in the contexts of architecture, visual media, and the “view from above”. During visits to the collections of the Cuneo Municipal Historical Archive and the Carlo Mollino Archive at the Politecnico di Torino, participants examined original materials, including aerial photographs, historical maps and plans, as well as project drawings. Excursions to Turin, Carignano, Vicoforte, and Mondovì provided further opportunities to discover the relevance of aerial vision in urban planning and built spaces. Baroque churches and cupolas thereby also opened up imaginary views upwards into the cosmos, complemented by the telescopic gaze from the observatory on Cuneo’s rooftops.
Three interactive workshops introduced the participants to a range of analogue and digital working methods: Through the medium of drawing, Lilian Kroth encouraged participants to reflect on Aerial Aesthetics. Valentine Bernasconi explored Computer Vision and Machine Learning using digital tools to test the digitization of the Aerial Atlas that had been collaboratively developed in analogue form throughout the week. The Summer School was concluded by Fabio Gigone with a workshop on Machine (un)learning, offering a reinterpretation and systematization of the week’s collaborative and interdisciplinary work.
The Summer School AeroSpaces framed the three-day Conference AeroVisions. Aerial Aesthetics and the View from Above as well as three public evening events: the lecture Altri mondi. Esplorare lo spazio e guardarsi dall’alto by Giovanni Covone, the presentation of the book Earthscapes. Le conseguenze della visione della Terra dallo spazio (2023) in conversation with Matteo Vegetti and Andrea Borsari, and an artist talk on Art Exposing Climate Crimes with Paolo Cirio and Emmanuel Alloa.
CeSPeC Centro Studi sul Pensiero Contemporaneo (Cuneo, Italy)
Summer School XIX Edizione 2026
{inter}facce – collegare il mondo tra terra e aria
Participants
Jenna Altomonte (Mississippi State University, USA)
Taylor Carr-Howard (UCLA, USA)
Nina Caviezel (Universität Basel, Switzerland)
Rosa Cinelli (Université Paris VIII, France)
Alessandro De Cesaris (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Catalina Fara (Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Argentina)
Angela Gigliotti (OST, Switzerland)
Fabio Gigone (Leeds Beckett University, UK)
Lisa Henicz (OST, Switzerland)
Elif Kaymaz (University of Manchester, UK)
Lilian Kroth (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Marcella Marer (University of Zurich, Switzerland)
Claudia Nigrelli (SUPSI, Switzerland)
Vyta Pivo (University of Miami, USA)
Lucrezia Pozzi (SUPSI, Switzerland)
Simon Rabyniuk (TU Eindhoven NL/Uni Toronto, Canada)
Marco Strano (USI, Switzerland)
Emanuel Tandler (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Luca Valsecchi (University of Turin, Italy)
Chiara Velicogna (Politecnico di Milano, Italy)
Tutors
Valentine Bernasconi (Bibliotheca Hertziana, Italy)
Davide Deriu (University of Westminster, UK)
Roberto Dini (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
Angela Gigliotti (OST, Switzerland)
Fabio Gigone (Leeds Beckett University, UK)
Lilian Kroth (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Edoardo Piccoli (Politecnico di Torino, Italy)
Speakers Public Events
Giovanni Covone (Università Federico II di Napoli, Italy)
Matteo Vegetti (SUPSI, Switzerland)
Andrea Borsari (Università di Bologna, Italy)
Paolo Cirio (Artist, Italy)
Emmanuel Alloa (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Moderators
Katrin Albrecht (OST, Switzerland)
Alessandro De Cesaris (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland)
Angela Gigliotti (OST, Switzerland)
Lisa Henicz (OST, Switzerland)
Antonio Lo Campo (Journalist, Italy)
Claudia Nigrelli (SUPSI, Switzerland)
Scientific Organisation
Katrin Albrecht (OST, Switzerland)
Angela Gigliotti (OST, Switzerland)
Lisa Henicz (OST, Switzerland)
Administrative Organisation and Public Relations
Alessandro De Cesaris (CeSPeC)
Elisa Michelis (CeSPeC)