During School's Out! #1 in January 2019, we welcomed Maria Lisogorskaya who is one of the founding directors of Assemble studio, a multi-disciplinary collective working between the scales of immediate hands-on material prototyping, architecture and urban strategy.

Founded in 2010 to undertake a single self-built project, Assemble has since delivered a diverse and award-winning body of work, whilst retaining a democratic and co-operative working method that enables built, social and research-based work at a variety of scales, both making things and making things happen. This approach has awarded them the prestigious Turner prize.

At School's Out! #1, Maria talked about alternative approaches to housing development in the UK and abroad, focusing on affordable, self-determinant and collective living. Maria lectured and delivered workshops internationally, and has been awarded the Winston Churchill Fellowship to research collective building projects in US and China.