Architecture is used by political leaders to seduce, to impress, and to intimidate.
— Deyan Sudjic, The Edifice Complex: The Architecture of Power

Krakow, Riga, Warsaw, and Bucharest – four cities taking part in the unLoc project – share a history marked by totalitarian regimes that have shaped their architecture and continue to influence how we perceive them today.

The project focuses on buildings that may still be seen as symbols of power and control. Observing how their meanings have changed in the recent decades, we investigate and take part in this transformation. unLoc brings together science and art. We use linguistic and generative AI models to explore the possibilities, limitations, and ways in which humans and machines can collaborate in social design and artistic practice.

During a two-year research process, we examined examples of contested postwar architecture across the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. We invited artists and designers to re-examine the histories of these buildings, imagine their futures, experiment with their forms, and search for new meanings and functions.

The outcome is a collection of concepts, visual works, and projects – a reservoir of ideas that encourages reflection and dialogue on how the architecture of the former totalitarian states can be understood today, how we might talk about its future, and how its roles and perceptions can be redefined.

PROGRAMME:

1. SYMPOSIUM
Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Art Academy of Latvia, Kronvalda bulvāris 4, Auditorium 2

14.00–15.00 | unLoc the CITY — Project presentation
Welcome and introduction | Liene Jākobsone, Małgorzata Łuczyna
Architecture of Authority and the City: Symbols of Power in the Former Eastern Bloc | Dina Suhanova
Listening to the CITY: How people see the architecture of power today | Loredana Ivan
Redesigning the CITY: participatory art and design interventions | Małgorzata Łuczyna
Machine Learning the CITY: Artistic research through AI collaboration | Jacek Złoczowski

15.10–15.30 | Break

15.30–16.30 | PANEL 1 — Between human and machine: AI in creative practice
The power of play from the play of power | Ana Maria Patroi | architect, researcher
Speculative research on power: The Vault | Ioana Blanaru | media artist
Reproduction of artist’s handwriting. AI – tool for the optimization of creative processes | Līga Vēliņa | artist, researcher

16.30–16.45 | Break

16.45–18.00 | PANEL 2 — Future forms: AI and the reuse of architectural memory
Rethinking Bucharest dissonant heritage | Adrian Ibric | architect, researcher
(Machine) Learning from Nowa Huta: working through the dissonant heritage of Socialist Realist architecture with AI tools | Karolina Kolenda | art historian
Low-Tech AI: Hand and Algorithm | Reinis Saliņš | architect

2. EXHIBITION VENUE
Art Academy of Latvia, Kalpaka bulvāris 13, foyer of the main building
18.30 | Opening
The exhibition is open for viewing on November 6–28 during academy opening hours.