In January 2025, the first-year master’s students of the Academy of Architecture start the new semester with the Winter School Justice by design. Exploring the agency of radical spatial imagination for spatial justice. They work under the guidance of the Artists in Residence (AiR): Irene Luque Martin and Johnathan Subendran. They have been invited by Anna Gasco, Head of Urbanism, to curate this edition. Irene and Johnathan challenge students to critically examine the role of design in addressing injustice, particularly in the Global South. What is the role of spatial design in relation to social and ecological injustice? 

Irene Luque Martin & Johnathan Subendran 
Irene is an Assistant Professor at TU Delft, she merges academia and practice, focusing on the value of research of design. Johnathan holds a PhD from TU Delft and explores the relationship between spatial justice, conflict, and climate adaptation.

Case studies
In five case-based studios, topics such as displaced matriarchies in the Western Sahara, climate injustice in Manila, and refugee camps in Jordan are being explored. In a sixth studio, these findings are being integrated, with students encouraged to investigate the relationship between power structures and design as a means of justice. The programme culminates in a collective manifesto and public debate on design’s role in transforming unjust conditions. 

Interdisciplinary teams
In interdisciplinary teams, students tackle assignments during this year’s Winter School. For nine days, they work intensively and engage in discussions. Students learn to transform ideas into inspiring products, with the final outcomes ranging from built objects to statements, manifestos, plans, visions and ideas.