Re|thinking the heritage of modern architecture
in the MENA region and beyond
The Placeless Academy is a digital platform that aims to provide an international space to analyze and critique the legacy of architecture in the WANA region, and produce alternative critical knowledge beyond the Western colonial conception of modernity. The project is dedicated to supporting emerging architects in Libya, Morocco, and Austria with critical tools, mentorship, and global outreach. By linking the south (Morocco and Libya) to the north (Austria) The Placeless Academy establishes an alternative educational and critical environment to exchange knowledge and share learning, thus overcomes didactic and rigid traditional academic systems. The project consisted of a 3 months digital workshop that hosted several talks by international experts in the field such as Prof. Caroline Jäger-Klein, Assoc. Prof. Cruz Garcia, Arch. Hakim Benchekroun, Arch. Imad Dahmani, Arch. Amalie Elfalah, and Dr. Oliver Sukrow. In online workshops 13 participants produced critical research and speculative designs for the chosen sites in Casablanca, Benghazi, and Vienna which are presented in the publication Modernities out of Place.