Work done by 18 students from the College of Architecture, Art and Design (CAAD) at American University of Sharjah (AUS) during a summer term in Italy is now on exhibit in the CAAD Gallery.

The exhibition is entitled "Come Una Macchina" meaning "Like a Machine," a phrase that denotes the mode of operation for the fifth-year architecture studio in Milan and shows the work produced, and fun had, by the students. 

The first of two projects were carried out under the instruction of George Katodrytis, Associate Professor in Architecture, and the project required the students to design a studio/lab or an intervention within Milan that operated like a "machine;" in essence a micro-urban condenser of the city.

The second project was headed by Kevin Mitchell, Associate Professor in Architecture and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Affairs and Instruction, and Michael Hughes, Associate Professor in Architecture and Head of the Department of Architecture. The project called for the students to conceptualize the floral rituals of Italian burial tradition within a "house of flowers" to be located outside Como's Cimitero Monumentale. 

"The summer studio in Italy provides an opportunity to experience life and work in a place that is characterized by rich architectural and urban design traditions," said Mitchell. "We work on a project that explores the role that flowers placed in cemeteries play in Italian culture and students design a flower shop that considers the cultural practices and rituals associated with a visit to the cemetery. The best architects are often the most acute observers, and studios conducted in unfamiliar places require that students employ all of their senses to critically examine the relationship between people and their environment." 

The work exhibited was completed over the course of 60 days. The students took in great architectural sites and travelled across Italy-from Milan to Florence, Como, Rome, Venice, Vicenza, Verona-while balancing the workload of an intensive, condensed architecture studio.

According to participating student Shaima Rizvi, "This experience will always be an important marker from my time as an architecture student at AUS. The 17 other students and I got to travel and see the great architecture that we'd studied about in books. We also got to work, live and experience so much with each other, and were able to learn under the tutelage of three great professors in an intense and fulfilling studio."

This is the second year that AUS has offered a study abroad semester in Italy for its fifth-year architecture studio.

The exhibition can be viewed in the CAAD Gallery till December 13.