2022 Architecture Symposium

June 10, 2022

Architecture: Connecting Nature and Culture

Climate change, limited natural resources, as well as growing demands and regulatory frameworks for an ecological building culture which incorporates energy efficiency, sustainability, and preservation require different architectural approaches. Within these new conditions, how can architects make an impact with their designs and their choices for particular building materials such as bricks?

Promising developments are for instance buildings which were constructed by using local materials to reduce waste and energy or creating building envelopes with façade greening. Other means include concepts by not demolishing existing buildings but preserving them by careful conversions and extensions. And a more research-based focus is embraced by architects who develop innovative technologies, processes, and prototypes such as on-site robotics and digital fabrication in building construction.

Altogether, these approaches connect nature and culture by designing architecture that enables an environmentally sustainable future. The symposium’s speakers will share their insights from their respective fields for a discussion on how architects can make a substantial contribution for the built environment.

Our Speakers

Dübendorf , Juni 2017 - Nest. © Béatrice Devènes — © Béatrice Devènes (2017)

Kathrin Dörfler

Kathrin Dörfler is an architect and professor at Technical University of Munich leading the research group on digital fabrication, focusing on collaborative fabrication processes, on-site robotics, and fabrication-aware design.

Lina Ghotmeh

Lina Ghotmeh uses an in-depth historical and materially sensitive design methodology titled “archeology of the future” which is informed by a humanistic and sustainable approach in her architectural practice. She has taught as professor at Yale School of Architecture and at the University of Toronto.

Wilfried Kuehn

Wilfried Kuehn is an architect and his architectural practice Kuehn Malvezzi specializes on sensitive preservation issues as well as extensions and conversions of existing buildings. He is professor for spatial design at Technical University Vienna.

Lyndon Neri & Rossana Hu

Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu are the founding partners of Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. Lyndon and Rossana have been deeply committed to architectural education and have lectured across the globe in various universities and professional forums.

Our Moderator

Nicole Stoecklmayr

Nicole Stoecklmayr is managing director at zt: akademie, an educational institution offering courses, seminars, and events for the continuing professional development of architects and engineers in Austria.