"November Talks will explore the material as a fundamental element of building structures and its aesthetic, cultural and political significance. We will be interested in how materiality - what we build with - affects the sustainability of the construction industry. The aim is to offer a wide range of approaches to material and its use in architecture, " says Miroslav Pazdera, curator of the lecture series.
The architectural creators and collectives of this year's November Talks cycle are united by a common interest in materiality and a rethinking of their approach to it. Gillex Delalex of Paris-based studio Muoto, who experiments with architecture and urbanism and draws inspiration from public spaces and their material possibilities, will open the series. The Material Cultures collective focuses on research into regenerative materials and their ecological and political implications. Maarten Gielen, founder of the Belgian collective Rotor and Rotor DC, researches and practices the deconstruction of buildings and the reuse of building materials to minimize waste and rethink traditional building practices. Guido Brandi focuses on the theory and practice of circular construction and the reuse of materials.
Gilles Delalex runs the Paris-based architecture studio Muoto, and works in architecture, urbanism, design, as well as teaching and research. Since its foundation, the office has carried out projects ranging from master plans, public buildings, housing and installations. Gilles graduated from the University of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki and studied in Grenoble, Montreal, Brussels and Manchester. He is a professor at the Paris-Malaquais School of Architecture, where he is head of the THP (Theory, History, Project) department and co-director of LIAT, a research laboratory focused on infrastructure. In this lecture, he will present Holy Highway, a collection of texts, projects and images dedicated to the theme of the highway as the most radical public space.
This year's second speaker will be Summer Islam - architect and director of Material Cultures architecture and research office. Her work explores the political ecology of building materials and the environmental implications of using regenerative materials. She has been a visiting lecturer at ETH Zurich, and has taught at Central St Martins, UAL, London Metropolitan University and the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL. She is a PhD candidate at the RIOT lab at EPFL in Lausanne, where she is researching decarbonised built environments that prioritise ecosystems over industry.
Designer and researcher Maarten Gielen has long been involved in changing the way materials are used in architecture and construction. He co-founded the Rotor studio in 2006 and its sister office Rotor DC (Deconstruction) in 2014. For his contribution as author, designer and project manager, Maarten received the Maaskant Award for Youngs Architects, one of the highest awards of its kind in the Benelux. He lectures at architecture and design schools in Europe, Asia and the USA.
Guido Brandi is an architect and co-founder of the Zurich-based studio NUAR. Since 2018, he has been involved as a research assistant at the ZHAW Institute for Constructive Design. His work focuses on solving complex structural, logistical and economic problems related to the reuse of building materials. His talk will focus on research on circular construction, presented with the example of the analysis of the K118 building in Winterthur, Switzerland.
November Talks will be held on four Mondays from 4 November at 18.30 - 4 November (Gilles Delalex), 11 November (Material Cultures), 18 November (Maarten Gielen) and 25 November (Guido Brandi) - in the lecture room 155 Gočár, CTU Faculty of Architecture, Thákurova 9, Prague 6.
The lectures in English are intended for the general public, admission is free and wheelchair accessible. The November Talks series has been supported by the Sto Foundation since 2006 and is held annually at six selected European schools of architecture.