Monday Evening Talks
Architectural criticism
As part of this year’s lecture series, we invite internationally renowned architecture critics. Together with our guests, we would like to explore the tasks and formats of criticism and, above all, take a close look at those highly inflammatory disputes that trigger debates that reach far beyond the boundaries of the discipline. The composition of the series takes into account both the methodological diversity of the “critical business”, that of ideological positions and also that of the media in which criticism is articulated.
read more
23.10.23 – Ifa_Diaspora (german)
Palce: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
How is space political? Whose knowledge do we learn? What even is knowledge? Feel warmly invited to our collective learning session at RWTH Aachen, 23. October at 7:30pm, EPH lecture hall.
ifa_diaspora will be discussing, questioning and reflecting on forms of hegemony, intersectionality and racism in the architectural studies with fellow students and teachers. We also encourage students of all faculties and identities to join us in co-producing this session.
06.11.23 – Shumi Bose (english)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Shumi Bose is an architectural writer, educator, critic and curator based in London. She is well known for her curatorial work on the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale and her teaching at Central Saint Martins as well as the Architectural Association. Furthermore, she founded Holdspace to create room for discussions about architecture outside the academic sphere and is associated with the African Futures Laboratory.
13.11.23 – Wilfried Wang (german)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Wilfried Wang was born in
Hamburg in 1957 and studied architecture at the Bartlett School in London. He
works as an architect, author and curator. His practice includes teaching at
various European and American universities – including Harvard University, ETH
Zurich and the Akademie der Künste in Berlin – as well as his own office HOIDN
WANG PARTNER. Wang is also known as the editor and author of various
publications on architecture and architectural criticism.
20.11.23 – Ursula Baus (german)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Ursula Baus was born in Kaiserslautern in 1959 and studied philosophy, art history, classical archaeology and finally architecture in Saarbrücken, Stuttgart and Paris. She works as an author, architecture scholar and critic. Between 1987 and 2004, she was editor of the Deutsche Bauzeitung. She has also held various teaching posts, in Biberach for architectural theory and in Stuttgart for architectural criticism. As an author, she publishes books on building culture, architectural theory and history.
04.12.23 – Irénée Scalbert (english)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Irénée Scalbert works as an architecture critic in London. After studying Architecture at the Architectural Association, he worked as an Architect for a few years, before returning to the AA for teaching. He has been a visiting professor at Harvard, the Politecnico di Milano and a number of other universities since then. Additionally, he regularly publishes articles and essays as well as curates exhibitions.
11.12.23 – Forensic Architecture (english)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Forensic Architecture is a research project based at Goldsmiths University of London, founded in 2010 by Eyal Weizman. The research agency uses architectural techniques and evidence to document and uncover legal cases as well as human rights violations in cooperation with institutions like Amnesty International and the United Nations. In their publications they address these topics with a focus on the Israeli Occupation but also investigate cases all around the world, for example the racist terror attacs in Hanau, Germany. For their work they have been awarded numerous awards. The Montagabendgespräch will be held by Phoebe Walton, an Assistant Researcher at Forensis.
Many thanks to our sponsors fischerarchitekten and Reisebüro Hagemann.
We would also like to thank Mr Axel Deubner from Deubner Baumaschinen in particular. Himself a student at RWTH Aachen University during the beginnings of the lecture series over 40 years ago, he continues to support the series to this day. The anthology he edited, “The Murals of Klaus Paier in Aachen and Cologne”, will be published later this year.
Architektur im Kollektiv
In the winter semester of 2022/23, we continue our lecture and discussion series, which for more than four decades has stimulated reflection on current issues in architecture. This time, the series focuses on the concept of the “collective”. We ask: How do the collectives of architecture come into being? How do they become capable of acting? And what keeps them together? Elective affinities, cooperations and alliances are, we assume, conditions for innovative architecture of the present. As a small society within a larger one, the collective has its own orders and goals. Joining a collective usually involves a commitment to shared values, proven processes and available roles. The speakers in the series will give us insights into their particular world of work and discuss community, co-determination, decision-making and shared responsibility with us. The spectrum of lectures and talks offers answers to an eminently political question: what makes architecture a collective endeavour?
We are sorry to inform you that the session with Atelier 5 cannot take place on Monday, 30.01.2023.
We would like to thank you all very much for participating in the past talks, which were a great success even with a hybrid implementation! We are already looking forward to the next Monday evening discussion series, which will start towards the end of the year.
read more
07.11.22 – Architecture for Refugees (deutsch)
Palce: Ludwig Forum Aachen, 19:30
Tobias Häusermann, Anne Fabritius, Nadine Schröter, Claudia Jeltsch, Jordan Kouto
Architecture for Refugees Switzerland is an association based in Zurich that works for the inclusion and social participation of refugees. We want to make inclusion a reality; we want the «Open City». At a time when the topics of migration and asylum are increasingly disappearing from public discussion, and on the other hand the global situation of refugees is not experiencing any progress, we see the urgent need for more social justice, starting in our own country, Switzerland. Through interventions in urban space, building projects, teaching events, articles and discussions, we show that architecture, art and culture can create a balance to the social imbalance and thus, in addition to raising awareness in society, we also try to positively influence urban policy decisions.
21.11.22 – Dark Matter Labs (English)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
“Planetary Challenges: we’re facing a new set of problems and it’s vital that we start to reimagine our relationship with ourselves and our future”
Indy Johar is focused on the strategic design of new super scale civic assets for transition – specifically at the intersection of financing, contracting and governance for deeply democratic futures. Indy is co-founder of darkmatterlabs.org and of the RIBA award winning architecture and urban practice Architecture00, a founding director of open systems lab (digitising planning), seeded WikiHouse (open source housing) and Open Desk (open source furniture company). Indy is a non-executive international Director of the BloxHub (Denmark Copenhagen) – the Nordic Hub for sustainable urbanization and was 2016-17 Graham Willis Visiting Professorship at Sheffield University. He was also Studio Master at the Architectural Association – 2019-2020, UNDP Innovation Facility Advisory Board Member 2016-20 and RIBA Trustee 2017-20. He has taught & lectured at various institutions from the University of Bath, TU-Berlin; University College London, Princeton, Harvard, MIT and New School. Most recently, he was awarded the London Design Medal for Innovation in 2022.
12.12.22 – Rotor (English)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Today, reuse is often presented as a new thing, an innovation that requires complex technical solutions, a whole new branch of building materials and lots of expansive digital support. But in fact, reuse has always existed and continues to do so today, even if it has become a very marginal practice in our Western society. At Rotor, our work has been guided by the principle that “reuse” is more about rediscovering practices that have been swept away by discourses of modernisation and innovation than it is about reinventing the wheel. But this does not mean of course that reuse does not require inventiveness or creativity. On the contrary, rediscovering practices and adapting them to our current conditions often requires lots of both. During our presentation we will present a series of projects, and zoom in on what point during the design and build process we tweaked contemporary protocols and design conventions. By doing this, we hope to demonstrate the very concrete requirements of the circular economy today, without disregarding what already exists. Architect, Gaspard Geerts joined the Rotor team since 2018 where he works as a project manager for several design, design assistance, exhibition and research projects.
09.01.23 – La Rivoluzione Delle Seppie (english)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
CROSSING CULTURES in Belmonte Calabro
“BelMondo” is a socio-spatial research project bringing diverse practices to bear on humanitarian concerns. Situated in Belmonte Calabria it draws upon pressing local issues of migration and depopulation. The project initially deployed architectural practices of speculative visualisation, scales of material making and processes of consultation, across a wide cultural group. The annual rhythm of these created confidence between makers and users, newcomers and locals, as they incrementally became a method for collaborative socio-spatial practice and a generator for change.
Since 2016 the project has expanded from the discipline of architecture to involve media, geographers, agriculturalists, and engineers, developing a broad understanding of the project’s concerns and methods of addressing them.
The presentation will describe how different stakeholders have brought their skills to bear, demonstrated through various workshops and events. It will also explain how the processes deployed have begun to give value to the setting through social and material repair, and lastly, how the practices of architecture have formed a useful backdrop to re-imagine local issues of migration and depopulation.
La Rivoluzione delle Seppie is an international, nomadic and digital network of students, academics, asylum seekers and professionals interested in exploring the boundaries between practice and education. Their shared values define the operational approach, which is adaptable regarding opportunities and skills with the place that hosts the action. La Rivoluzione delle Seppie coordination group is formed by the Le Seppie association, and the Orizzontale collective.
Crossings Culture is a university-based research initiative led by Sandra Denicke Polcher and Jane McAllister as part of London Metropolitan’s Centre for Urban and Built Ecologies (CUBE). It wants to develop a diverse pedagogical model, to provide an inclusive learning environment which aims to facilitate intercultural relationships and group learning, equipping students with essential skills for a globally connected world beyond the subject of architecture.
16.01.23 – Space Caviar (English)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Non-Extractive Architecture is a live research platform focused on rethinking the balance between the built and natural environments, the role of technology and politics in future material economies, and the responsibility of the architect as an agent of transformation. The project sets out to examine – and redefine – the public’s expectations of the architect and architects’ expectations of themselves. What if architecture were understood first and foremost as a form of stewardship of the built and natural environments? What if we redesigned our economies to favor integration, circularity durability and social resilience through the towns and cities we build? What if the material supply chains behind environments we inhabit were visible and participatory rather than invisible and often exploitative? Non-Extractive Architecture engages individuals within and outside the field of architecture to create an open platform through which the current role of architecture can be debated, and new paths can be defined to leverage its potential as a positive force in shaping the future of the landscape. Space Caviar is an architecture and research studio operating at the intersection of design, technology, politics and the public realm. The office uses built work, exhibitions, publishing, writing and film to investigate and document contemporary modes of habitation and the spatialisation of social and political practice. Space Caviar’s work has been shown at the Venice Architecture Biennale, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Biennale Interieur, Vitra Design Museum and the Munich Film Museum, among others.
30.01.23 (cancelled) – Atelier 5 (deutsch)
Place: Hörsaal EPH, 19:30
Atelier 5 was founded in May 1955 by five young architects in Bern (Switzerland) and still enjoys great vitality 67 years later. This was made possible because Atelier 5 is not an author’s office, but rather because the life histories of the owners of different ages overlap at different times, so that a handover of the baton can take place again and again. In public, the office appears collectively; the individual persons behind the projects are not named and thus fade into the background. In this way, continuity of the work and the office is achieved.
The lecture will explain the organisation and working methods of Atelier 5 and how this affects the projects. Projects are shown that also focus on the collective, i.e. on people living together. Florian Lünstedt grew up in Starnberg and St. Germain en Laye. He first studied law in Constance and Munich before turning to architecture. During his studies at the Technical University of Munich, he was a student assistant at the chairs of Prof. M. Reichenbach Klinke and Prof. Theodor Hugues. After working in the office of Fink and Jocher in Munich, he joined Atelier 5 in 2005 and has been a partner in the office since 2011.
Caring architecture
For more than forty years, the Aachener Montagabendgespräche have been a highlight in the academic life of the architecture faculty at RWTH Aachen University and a regional meeting place for people interested in architecture. This year, the series of talks will continue in presence as well as online, with live broadcasts via Zoom and YouTube. Starting points of the upcoming series are thoughts on a caring and prudent architecture, i.e. a design and building practices that are oriented towards the preservation and care of material and immaterial resources. Architects and designers will address the spectrum of care from different perspectives and present their contributions to a caring use of raw materials, construction methods or social bonds for discussion. The discussion series is organised by the Department of Architectural Theory at RWTH Aachen University and supported by the Commission for the Improvement of Teaching.
YouTube live broadcast can be found at this Link:
Important Information: Unfortunately we have to cancel the upcoming lecture on 24.01.2022 with Louisa Hutton due to the pandemic situation. However, there will be a make-up date in the summer semester, which we will announce as soon as possible.
read more
15.11.21 – Gernot Minke
29.11.21 – Van Bo Le-Mentzel – The Tiny Foundation (online)
13.12.21 – Caroline Voet (online)
10.01.22 – Dirk Hebel (online)
24.01.22 (abgesagt) – Louisa Hutton
Alle Treffen finden um 19:30 Uhr im EPH, Schinkelstr.2, 3.OG statt und werden über Zoom und YouTube übertragen. Anmeldungen sollten an MAG@theorie.arch.rwth-aachen.de geschickt werden. Für weitere Informationen schreiben Sie bitte an info@theorie.arch.rwth-aachen.de
Architektur und Politik
In the winter semester 2020/21, the lecture series deals with the idea of the political in architecture as a part of the res publica, public affairs. The focus is on public debates, conflicts, negotiation processes and the clash of opinions through which the political becomes tangible in architecture. This year’s Monday Evening Talks look for such antagonisms in the fields of urban ethnography, urban planning, structural change and democratisation of societies. For this lecture series, we would like to cordially invite you to RWTH Aachen University as a discussion partner.
read more
09.11.20 – Architektur und politischer Streit
Tatjana Schneider (TU Braunschweig) und Christoph Grafe (Bergische Universität Wuppertal)
Architektur, so ein weit verbreiteter Wunsch, soll die treue Dienerin des Gemeinwohls sein. Wie kann dieser Wunsch heute erfüllt werden? Darüber wird im Zusammenhang ökologischer und ökonomischer Krisen gestritten. Architektur ist Teil dieses politischen Streits, der im Verlauf des ersten Montagabendgesprächs zur Sprache kommen soll.
23.11.20 -Capital and Architecture
Douglas Spencer (Iowa State University) und Frédérique Monjanel (Ateliers Jean Nouvel)
Neoliberal ideologies emphasize the increase of economic value through dynamics such as self-organization, opportunism and competition in all areas of society and for each individual. How do they affect urban planning and architecture? Real estate companies are building large scale developments that not only create primarily economic value, but also appear to be designed for neoliberal, i.e. entrepreneurial, flexible and self-optimizing subjectivities.
07.12.20 – Mapping the Conflict
Diana Lucas Drogan (Mapping Artist) und Suzanne Hall (London School of Economics)
How do approaches from urban ethnography and critical mapping contribute to our understanding of the political in the built environment? This session will look at spatial configurations of urban migration, racialized citizenship and social inequalities in the built environment.
11.01.21 – Architecture and Democracy
Jan-Werner Müller (Princeton University) und Dirk van den Heuvel (TU Delft)
Given the long-standing and often complicated relationship between architecture and democracy, this panel discusses to what extent architecture might implement democratic politics and how, in the light of post-war histories of architecture, planning and the welfare state, ideas of redistribution, social justice and populism have reframed democratic values in the built environment.
25.01.21 – Social Housing as Collective Effort
Franziska Bollerey (TU Delft) und Vanessa Grossman (TU Delft)
20th century policies of European welfare states integrated the provision of both decent and affordable housing for the many. Within this encounter, we will revisit social housing models of the recent past and reconsider their relevance with regard to current debates on social justice and appropriate dwellings.
01.02.21 – Kohlekommission“, Strukturwandel und öffentliche Protestformen
Agnes Förster (RWTH Aachen), Bastian Neuwirth (Greenpeace) und Kai Niebert (Deutscher Naturschutzring)
Über den Kohleausstieg und die Kommission „Wachstum, Strukturwandel und Beschäftigung“ wurde in den letzten Jahren hitzig diskutiert. Dabei spielt der Raum – wem er gehört oder wie er genutzt wird – eine zentrale Rolle. Proteste und Demonstrationen verändern den Alltag im öffentlichen Raum. Private Grundstücke, wie der Hambacher Forst, werden besetzt
Indien
Im Wintersemester 2019-20 möchten wir unsere Reihe fortsetzen. Die Vorträge der Referentinnen und Referenten aus Indien werden ein breites Themenspektrum abdecken und Einblicke in die in zeitgenössische Theorie und Praxis indischer Architektur, Stadtplanung und Denkmalpflege vermitteln.
Auftaktveranstaltung mit Smriti Saraswat und Ramasubramaniam Shankar am 7.10.2019
read more
ANUPAMA KUNDOO, Anupama Kundoo Architects 28.10.2019
Anupama Kundoo’s internationally recognised and award-winning architecture practice started in 1990, demonstrates a strong focus on material research and experimentation towards an architecture that has low environmental impact and is appropriate to the socio-economic context. Kundoo has built extensively in India and has had the experience of working, researching and teaching in a variety of cultural contexts across the world: TU Berlin, AA School of Architecture London, Parsons New School of Design New York, University of Queensland Brisbane, IUAV Venice and ETSAB Barcelona. She is currently Professor at UCJC Madrid where she is Chair of ‘Affordable Habitat’. She is also the Strauch Visiting Critic at Cornell University.
Kundoo’s work extend to urban design and planning projects, with her background in rapid urbanisation related development issues, about which she has written extensively. She taught urban management at the TU Berlin and recently proposed her strategies for a future city for Africa, as part of the Milan Triennale 2014. She is the author of ‘Roger Anger: Research on Beauty/Recherche sur la Beauté, Architecture 1958-2008’ published in Berlin by Jovis Verlag in 2009. Her latest publication is a book chapter ‘Rethinking affordability in economic and environmental terms’ in the Routledge book ‘Inclusive Urbanisation: Rethinking Policy, Practice and Research in the Age of Climate Change’, 2015.
Anupama Kundoo was born in Pune, India in 1967. She graduated from Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Mumbai in 1989, and received her PhD degree from the TU Berlin in 2008. In 2013 Kundoo received an honourable mention in the ArcVision International Prize for Women in Architecture for ‘her dedication when approaching the problem of affordability of construction and sustainability in all aspects’. (Quelle: Website Anupama Kundoo Architect)
REVATHI KAMATH, Kamath Design Studio 4.11.2019
Born in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa, in 1955. She obtained her Bachelors degree in Architecture in 1977 and a Post Graduate degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 1981, both from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi.
In 1981, she opened a firm with Vasant Kamath, „Revathi and Vasant Kamath“, which later came to be known as „Kamath Design Studio – Architecture, Planning and Environment“ (2005). The studio has handled a wide variety of projects, in diverse social, economic and geographical contexts. The Anandgram Project for Rehabilitation of slum dwellers near Shadipur Depot, Delhi was one of the earliest in early 1983. Revathi Kamath is noted for her sensitive efforts for conceiving the „Evolving Home“ concept for redevelopment. She consulted with 350 families to understand individual needs and to give them a first home on the ground.
Three of her projects have been nominated for the Aga Khan Award. They are the Akshay Pratishthan School in Delhi, Community Center at Maheshwar and Nalin Tomar House at Hauz Khas, Delhi.
Revathi has contributed to the exhibition – „Traditional Architecture in India“ for the festival of India in Paris, in 1986. She was also on the contributing design team for the Eternal Gandhi Multimedia Museum. She was co-curator and designer for the exhibition „Craft: A Tool for Social Change“ for VHAI (Voluntary Health Association of India) in 2003. She is currently working on the Museum for Tribal Heritage, Bhopal, the Gnostic Center, Delhi, a research center for growth of consciousness, Jiva Wellness Center and Jiva University for Yogic Sciences (Quelle: Website Kamath Design Studios and Wikipedia)
RAHUL SRIVASTAVA, URBZ 18.11.2019
Rahul Srivastava is a co-founder of the Studio “urbz” and The Institute of Urbanology. He studied social and urban anthropology in Mumbai, Delhi and Cambridge (UK). His previous publications include an ethnography of urbanized nomads around Mumbai, a novel published by Puffin, (Penguin, India) and ‚The Slum Outside‘, a commentary on Dharavi, co-written with Matias Echanove and published by Strelka Press. He continues to write extensively on urban issues with Matias, with their next major publication signed up with Verso, London. He brings his background in anthropology and visual ethnography to urbanology, the practice that energises much of urbz’s work in Mumbai and elsewhere. (Quelle: Website urbz)
AMBRISH ARORA, Studio Lotus 9.12.2019
Ambrish Arora is founder of and Design Principal at Studio Lotus, a New Delhi-based multi-disciplinary design practice. Spanning the domains of Master Planning, Architecture & Interior Design the work of the award-winning practice, is grounded on the principles of Conscious Design – an inclusive approach that focusses on a rigorous process as much as the end result. Presently, Ambrish plays the role of Chief Mentor to the team.
Through his practice, Ambrish has also campaigned for the revival of crafts and the integration of vernacular wisdom and artisanal skillsets in modern building practices, as a means to achieve cultural, social as well as environmental sustainability often through frugal and passive means relevant to the sub continent. Ambrish has been a part of several National advisories and Juries on Design & Architecture and has extensivley lectured internationally and within India and has a keen interest in building design leadership as a catalyst of change.
SAMIRA RATHOD, SRDA 13.01.2020
Samira graduated from the Sir. J. J. College of Architecture, Mumbai in 1986 and soon after completed her Master in Architecture from the University of Illinois, Urbana – Champaign in 1988. While in the States she worked on several projects under Don Wald and Associates based in California, including personal projects of Clint Eastwood. Upon her return to India, she worked with Ratan Batliboi for several years before starting her own partnership firm RLC in 1995.
In 1996 she stepped into the limelight with her solo furniture exhibit ‚Liasons de Formes‘. Thereafter in 2000, she founded her solo practice Samira Rathod Design Atelier, which has grown over the years. She was involved in furniture design under Transforme Designs until 2003.
Her passion for writing, theorizing and discussing architecture led her to be the editor and creator of SPADE and founder and director of SPADE INDIA RESEARCH CELL which candidly deliberates, investigates and researches the condition and impact of design in India. Samira believes in cultivating talent and a strong sense of design in today’s youth and is a adjunct faculty member at the Kamla Raheja Institue of Architecture in Mumbai and has been invited to be a part of juries and panels all over the country and abroad. (Quelle: Website SRDA)
SAMUEL BARCLAY, Case Design 20.01.2020
After earning bachelor degrees in architecture and civil engineering from Lehigh University, Sam went on to obtain his M. Arch from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI_Arc) in 2004.
He practiced in Los Angeles with Studio Works Architects before moving to India in 2006 to work with Studio Mumbai and founded Case Design in 2013. In addition to his experience in the design and construction of architectural projects, he has worked on furniture, interiors and exhibitions which led to the establishment of Casegoods in 2015. (Quelle: Website Case Design).
Chinesische Moderne
History, contemporary conditions and tendencies of various fields in urban planning, architecture and historical heritage preservation in China.
read more
TIANTIAN XU, 15.10.2018
Tiantian Xu is founding principal of DnA_Design and Architecture Beijing Office. She received her master of Architecture in Urban Design from Harvard Graduate School of Design, and her baccalaureate in architecture from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Prior to establishing DnA Beijing, she worked at a number of design firms in the United States and the Netherlands. She has received 2006 WA China Architecture Award and 2008 Young Architects Award from The Architectural League New York. Her focus is the reactivation and development of rural areas in China. Earlier in this year, a selection of her projects were exhibited at the gallery Aedes in Berlin under the title „RURAL MOVES – THE SONGYANG STORY“. As part of the Chinese Pavilion, her projects are presented at the Venice Biennale in 2018.
YUNG HO CHANG, 29.10.2018
Yung Ho Chang born in 1956, is the Principal Architect of Atelier FCJZ and the Head of Architecture Department at MIT. Prior to his MIT position, he was the founding Head and still is a Professor of the Peking University Graduate Center of Architecture.
He studied at the Nanjing Institute of Technology (now Southeast University) before moving to the US. He received Master of Architecture degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1984, became a licensed architect in the U.S. in 1989, has been practicing in China since 1992, and established Atelier Feichang Jianzhu (FCJZ) in 1993.
Often combining his research activities with design commissions, he focuses on the city, materiality, and tradition.
XIANGNING LI, 10.12.2018
Engaged in the field of history, theory and criticism of architecture, LI Xiangning is a member of CICA (Comité International des Critiques d’Architecture), and has published widely on contemporary Chinese architecture and urbanism in international architectural magazines including Architectural Review, A+U, Architectural Record, Arquitectura Viva, Space, Domus, and Volume.
Besides being a professor at Tongji University, LI Xiangning was a visiting scholar at MIT and a Visiting Professor at Harvard GSD. He was curator of numerous exhibitions in China and has been working with international museums and institutes, including Milan Triennale and Goethe Institute, curating exhibitions on Chinese architecture. Most recently, he curated the Chinese Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2018. He has been a jury member to many international awards and competitions including Spanish International Architectural Award, Holcim Award for Sustainable Construction, and Mies van der Rohe Award the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture.
IRIS BELLE, 07.01.2019
Currently teaching at the college of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University as Assistant Professor, Iris Belle holds a Ph.D. in Geography from Heidelberg University, a Diploma in Architecture from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and a certificate in Chinese language from Beijing Normal University.
In the past, Iris Belle was a Post Doc researcher and module coordinator at the Future Cities Lab of the Singapore ETH Centre and the Institute for Historic Building Research and Conservation at ETH Zurich. She also worked as architectural and urban designer at AREP Beijing and gmp-Architekten Beijing. As a consultant, she has conceptualized conferences and workshops on urban transformation and architecture for the DAAD and the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design.
Her research interests include the effects of urban governance on sustainable development, the long-term transformation of the building stock in relation to cultural capital and natural resources and design and construction quality. Currently, Iris Belle researchers the effects of digitalization on innovation in the construction sector.
EDUARD KÖGEL, 14.01.2019
Dr. Eduard Kögel studied Architecture, Urban planning and landscape Planning at the University of Kassel between 1988 and 1995. Between 1999 and 2011 he was member of board from stadtkultur international in Berlin; between 1999 and 2004, he was research assistant for the chair of planning and building in non-European regions at the Technical University of Darmstadt. Beside teaching commission at the TU Darmstadt and TU Berlin, he is a regular contributor for magazines like Bauwelt, archithese, Archis, Garten+Landschaft and Topos and guest editor of special issues for Arch+, Bauwelt and World Architecture. He has numerous publications on architects and architecture in China, and organised various exhibitions on chinese architects with the galery Aedes through the years.
ZHANG LI, 21.01.2019
Zhang Li, born in 1970, is Professor of Architecture and Chair of the Architecture Department in the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, China. He leads the design practice Atelier TeamMinus in Beijing. He is currently a board member of the Architectural Society of China and the Editor-in-Chief of the leading Chinese magazine World Architecture.
Zhang Li’s research focuses on pre-industrial oriental philosophy and its contemporary reinterpretation. Besides his teaching in China, he has been the Professor of Practice (2012) in Syracuse University and the Visiting Critic (2010) in National University of Singapore. He has also taught joint-studio projects in a number of institutions, including: GSD, Harvard; Barcelona School of Architecture, UPC; Berlage Institute; Polytechnic University of Turin.
In recent years, Zhang Li and TeamMinus have completed a variety of buildings and urban renewal projects in China, and have been published internationally and have won multiple awards. Zhang Li has been a keynote speaker or guest panelist at different international events. He moderated the Tsinghua Session in the 2012 Pritzker Beijing Architecture Forum.
19:30 Uhr
EPH, Schinkelstr. 2, 3.OG
Japanische Moderne
History, contemporary conditions and tendencies of various fields in urban planning, architecture and historical heritage preservation in Japan.
read more
40 Jahre Montagabendgespräche 2017-18 – Japanische Moderne
13.11.17 Izumi Kuroishi
11.12.17 Tsuyoshi Tane
08.01.18 Riichi Miyake
15.01.18 Ryusuke Kojio
22.01.18 Momoyo Kaijima
29.01.18 Naoya Hatakeyama
19:30 Uhr
EPH, Schinkelstr. 2, 3.OG
Architektur und Bücher
Im Wintersemester 2016/17 möchten wir die Reihe fortsetzen. Passend zu unserem Motto „Architektur / Bücher“ möchten wir Vortragende ans Reiff einladen, die als Autorinnen und Autoren bemerkenswerter Veröffentlichungen jüngeren Datums in Erscheinung getreten sind. Die Reihe zu den Büchern der Architektur soll nicht nur Einblicke in aktuelle Forschung und berufliche Praxis vermitteln. Ausgehend von den spezifischen Erfahrungen der Autorinnen und Autoren sollen die Montagabendgespräche auch die Diskussion zur Bedeutung des Mediums Buch im digitalen Zeitalter beflügeln.
read more
Architekturbücher
Christoph Grafe
05.11.16
Masaki Fujihata
12.12.16
Adam Caruso & Helen Thomas
09.01.17
Christ & Gantenbein
16.01.17
Bernard Cache
23.01.17
Termine: immer montags Fo4/ 19:00 Uhr
Hörsaal Fo4, Karman-Auditorium
Eilfschornsteinstr. 15
52062 Aachen
Design by choice
Im Wintersemester 2015/16 möchten wir die Reihe fortsetzen und Vortragende ans Reiff einladen, die sich mit der Geschichte und Gegenwart der Mass-Customization, d.h., der Konzeption und Herstellung von maßgeschneiderten Serienprodukten und Baukomponenten in Theorie und Praxis auseinandersetzen. Die Vortragsreihe soll aufzeigen, dass Mass-Customization nicht erst mit einem durch digitale Werkzeuge möglich werdenden Variantenreichtum beginnt, sondern bereits in der Frühzeit der Industrialisierung anzutreffen ist. Die Veranstaltung lädt Studierende ein, gemeinsam mit den Vortragenden über rapid-prototyping, die Flexibilität von Werkzeugen und die Ursprünge der industriellen Herstellung von Baukomponenten zu diskutieren. Die Vortragsreihe steht diesmal in Verbindung zu einer parallel in der Maastrichter Kulturinstitution Bureau Europa stattfindenden Ausstellung, die vom Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Architekturtheorie der RWTH-Aachen in Kooperation mit Jules Schoonman und Adriaan Mellegers konzipiert und kuratiert wird.
read more
The sex appeal of the inorganic and the distraction of architecture: an aesthetic appraisal
16.11.15 – Karman-Auditorium, Fo4, Aachen, 19.30h
VERLEGT (11.01.16 – Karman-Auditorium, Fo4, Aachen, 20.00h)
The digital turn, from mass customization to complexity and computation
30.11.15 – Bureau Europa, Maastricht, 19.30h
Immanuelkirche Köln – Architektur und Holzingenieurbau im Dialog
Jürgen Bartenschlag (Sauerbruch Hutton, Berlin) und
Anders Übelhack (Züblin Holzingenieurbau / MERK Timber, Aichach)
07.12.15 – Karman-Auditorium, Fo4, Aachen, 19.30h
The digital turn, from mass customization to complexity and computation
11.01.16 – Karman-Auditorium, Fo4, Aachen, 20.00h
Of Otters and Iron: Captain Cook, Alexander Walker and the Peoples of Nootka Sound on the Northwest Pacific Coast 1778-1786
Maxine Berg (Warwick)
17.01.16 – Bureau Europa, Maastricht, 11.00h
Rage against the machine: cast iron and its critics
17.01.16 – Bureau Europa, Maastricht, 12.00h
FORM FOLLOWS PROCESS
Silke Langenberg (München/Zürich)
18.01.16 – Karman-Auditorium, Fo4, Aachen, 19.30h
Hörsaal Fo4, Karman-Auditorium
Eilfschornsteinstr. 15
52062 Aachen
Bureau Europa
Timmerfabriek
Boschstraat 9
6211 AS Maastricht
Animation
Unter dem Titel „Animationen“ widmen sich die Montagabendgespräche im Wintersemester 2014/15 der Beziehung zwischen der Architektur und dem bewegten Bild. Wir werden der Frage nachgehen, wie die eigentlich statisch-leblose Architektur mit Bildmedien umgeht, die sie in Bewegung versetzten und zum Leben erwecken.
read more
Gesprächsreihe
3. Nov / 1. Dez / 8. Dez / 12. Jan. Mon 20 Uhr Kármán Auditorium, Fo 4
Im Mittelpunkt stehen dabei jene architektonischen Praktiken, die animierte Bilder zur Ideenfindung, zum Entwerfen oder zur Sichtbarmachung nutzen, manipulieren oder generieren. Im Gegensatz zur Avantgarde der 1920er Jahre, die das Kino als utopisches Modell einer zukünftigen Kunst für sich entdeckte, soll es hier um konkrete Praktiken gehen, in denen Architekten sich mit unterschiedlichen Manifestationen animierter Bilder beschäftigen bzw. Filmmacher sich mit architektonischen Räumen auseinandersetzen. Die eingeladenen Gäste haben gemein, dass ihre Arbeiten sich im Spannungsverhältnis von Bild und Bau bewegen und ihre professionelle wie künstlerische Praxis durch die Beschäftigung mit animierten Bildern erweitert wird.
Mitmischen
Im Wintersemester 2013-14 soll wieder ein Vortrags- und Gesprächszyklus stattfinden. Dieses Mal hat der Titel der Reihe einen eindeutigen Aufforderungscharakter und schließt an sehr aktuelle, zum Teil kontrovers diskutierte Themen an. Unter dem Titel „Mitmischen“ sollen zeitgenössische Architektinnen und Architekten zu Wort kommen, deren Anliegen es ist, neue Formen der Kooperation und Partizipation zu erproben.
read more
Partizipation/Genossenschaften/Soziales Bauen
Auf dem Programm stehen das französische Kreativkollektiv „Bruit du Frigo“ mit seinen Konzepten für die Umnutzung städtischer Räume, Genossenschaftsprojekte des Büros „pool-Architekten“ aus Zürich, die städtebaulichen Debatten und Konflikte rund um den Gezi-Park in Istanbul, die Interventionen in urbanen Räumen des Londoner Büros „assemble“ sowie eine kritische Bestandsaufnahme von Bürgerbeteiligungen im Zuge des aktuellen Stadtumbaus der Pariser Hallen.
02.12.2013 Orhan Esen – Widerstand im Istanbuler Gezi-Park
09.12.2013 Benjamin Frick (Bruit du Frigo) – Kreative Stadt und ‚développement désirable‘
13.01.2014 Mischa Spoerri (pool Architekten) – Bauen für Schweizer Genossenschaften
20.01.2014 Françoise Fromonot – Die Affäre der Pariser Hallen
27.01.2014 Joseph Halligan/Paloma Strelitz (Assemble) – Interventionen im urbanen Raum
Die Vorträge finden im Hörssal Fo4 des Kármán-Auditoriums der RWTH Aachen, Eilfschornsteinstraße 15, statt. Der Beginn ist jeweils um 19:30 – wir würden uns freuen, Sie willkommen heißen zu dürfen!
Stichwortgeber Hermann Czech
Das Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Architekturtheorie der RWTH-Aachen lädt ein zu einer Gesprächsreihe, die sich aus thematischen Vorlagen des österreichischen Architekten Hermann Czech entwickeln wird. Hermann Czech wird die Reihe mit einem Vortrag eröffnen. Die weiteren Gäste, Ernst Hubeli, Ullrich Schwarz, Jörg Leeser, Urs Füssler, Wilfried Kuehn und Marcel Meili werden Czech’sche Themen wie Manierismus, Realismus, Partizipation, Komfort und Umbau aufgreifen, um sie in Form von Vorträgen und Gesprächen weiter zu entwickeln.
read more
Termine:
3. Dezember 2012 – Vortrag: Hermann Czech
17. Dezember 2012 – Gespräch: Ernst Hubeli / Ullrich Schwarz
14. Januar 2013 – Gespräch: Urs Füssler / Jörg Leeser
21. Januar 2013 – Gespräch: Wilfried Kuehn / Marcel Meili
Alle Veranstaltungen finden im Hörsaal Fo3 des Kármán-Auditoriums der RWTH-Aachen in der Eilfschornsteinstraße 15 statt und beginnen jeweils um 19 Uhr 30.
In Verbindung mit den Montagabendgespächen bietet das Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Architekturtheorie ein Kompaktseminar in Lüttich an. Hierbei dient das Denken und Werk von Hermann Czech als Anlass und Anstiftung zur erfinderischen Aneignung vorgefundener Strukturen und Situationen.
Gastdozenten: Urs Füssler und Jörg Leeser,
Termin : 20.- 24. Februar 2013, Anmeldung über Campus erforderlich
Vorsicht: Fallstricke – Architektur und ihre Klischees
Die nächste Reihe ist den Klischees oder Gemeinplätzen der heutigen Architektur gewidmet. Wie „grün“ ist „nachhaltig“? Ist „transparent“ ein durchsichtiges Ideal? Wie „flexibel“ kann „Komfort“ sein? Und ist „less“ immer „more“? In einer 6-teiligen Vortragsreihe werden Begriffe der Architektur diskutiert, die so oft gebraucht werden, dass sie bereits verbraucht sind: ehemals frische Ideen, die zu Plattitüden wurden, und auf die die zeitgenössische Architektur immer noch baut. Diese Gemeinplätze tauchen inflationär in Zeitschriften, Ausstellungen, Diskussionen und Entwurfskonzepten auf und scheinen eine Art magisches Rezept für einen „guten“ Entwurf zu liefern. Solche Klischees erstrecken sich von allgemeinen Dogmen wie „Minimalismus“, „nachhaltige Architektur“ oder „Sicherheit“, über Schlagwörter wie „Kontext“ und „organisch“ bis hin zu Materialien („Glas-Holz-Beton“) und Bautypologien („Atrium“, „Dachgarten“). Hierzu werden Architekten, Philosophen und Soziologen eingeladen, die einzelne Klischees verteidigen oder zerschlagen, analysieren oder ihnen neuen Sinn geben.
read more
15.11.2010_ JEAN LOUIS COHEN,(FR )_Ein Anti-Wörterbuch der modernen Architektur
Sowohl als Kurator als auch in beratender Tätigkeit ist Jean-Louis Cohen eine Schlüsselfigur an Akademien und anderen staatlichen Institutionen. Mit einem “Anti-Wörterbuch der modernen Architektur” eröffnete Jean Louis Cohen die diessemestrigen Montagabendgespräche. In seinem Vortrag beschäftigte er sich mit der Geschichte und der Theorie der Architektur die voller schwammiger, mehrdeutiger, mitunter sogar gefährlicher Begriffe ist.
Unterstützt von: Reiff +, Moleskine, Hans-Lamers Stiftung, ArchitekTOUR, Reisebüro Hagemann, Lube & Krings, Lindt, Institut Culturel Franco-Allemand, BDA Aachen, IHK Aachen, Die Kochnische, CaféReiff
22.11.2010_REINIER DE GRAAF, OMA/AMO, (NL)_“Nachhaltigkeit“
29.11.2010_MOMOYO KAIJIMA, Atelier Bow-Wow, (JP)_”Architektur”
13.12.2010_ KEN TADASHI OSHIMA, (USA)_”Japan”
17.01.2011_ FINN WILLIAMS, Common Office, (GB)_“Regeltreue“
24.01.2011_ENRIQUE WALKER, (ARG/USA)_Ein Wörterbuch der übergenommenen Ideen
Homo Faber
Vom Herstellen der Architektur
Seit 1977 organisiert das Lehr- und Forschungsgebiet Architekturtheorie jährlich im Wintersemester eine öffentliche Vortragsreihe zur Auseinandersetzung mit aktuellen Fragestellungen aus Architektur, Städtebau und Theorie. Die Montagabendgespräche bieten ein wichtiges Forum, um Konzeptionen, Prozesse und Projekte internationaler Gäste zu diskutieren.
read more
Im Wintersemester 2008/09 widmeten sich die Montagabendgespräche dem Thema „Homo Faber. Vom Herstellen der Architektur“? Im Rahmen dieses Schwerpunktes stand die Frage nach der Umsetzung von Architektur: Welche Rollen spielen dabei ArchitektIn und BauherrIn, Industrie und Handwerk, Material und Werkzeug?
Das Spektrum der Gäste wurde bewusst breit gefasst. Es umfasste bauende (Marcos Acayaba, Sao Paulo) und lehrende Architekten (Shin Egashira, AA School, London), Vertreter des Baugewerbes (Marcus Fischer, Finnforest Merk Holzbau, Aichach) sowie Verfasser von theoretischen Auseinandersetzungen mit Produktionsmethoden (James Timberlake, Kieran Timberlake, Philadelphia; Bohdan Paczowski, Luxemburg). Dem modernen Interpreten uralter Lehmbautechniken (Martin Rauch, Lehm Ton Erde, Schlins) stand der Schöpfer digitaler parametrischer Modelle zur Umsetzung komplexer baulicher Geometrien (Arnold Walz, designtoproduction, Stuttgart / Zürich) gegenüber.
Die Montagabendgespräche wurden im Wintersemester 2008/09 ermöglicht durch die großzügige Unterstützung von Reiff+, den Studiengebühren der Architekturstudierenden an der RWTH Aachen; des Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA) Bezirksgruppe Aachen; sowie privater Sponsoren, u.a. Claytec.