Bathroom brand, VitrA, announces four further speakers in the international RIBA + VitrA Talks series with events taking place in London, Dundee and Istanbul. Continuing the ongoing partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), the line-up now includes globally recognised architects Eduardo Souto de Moura and Dorte Mandrup for the London talks,Yasmeen Lari with a lecture at the V&A Dundee and Ben van Berkel from UNStudio in Istanbul.
The 2019-2020 programme of RIBA + VitrA Talks started earlier this month with a sold-out lecture from Craig Edward Dykers and Kjetil Trædal Thorsen from Snøhetta Architects. The series will continue on Tuesday 10 December in London with a talk from Eduardo Souto de Moura, followed by Dorte Mandrup on Tuesday 28 January.
On Tuesday 18 February, the RIBA + VitrA Talks will travel to the V&A Dundee for an evening with Yasmeen Lari. In 1963, she became the first woman to qualify as an architect in Pakistan, after training in the UK at the Oxford School of Architecture. Before officially retiring from practice in 2000, she designed many of Pakistan’s landmark modern commercial buildings. Lari will talk about what she calls ‘anti-architecture’, a concept she has developed to refer to zero-carbon structures in disaster areas of Pakistan.
Following the success of Daniel Libeskind’s talk in Istanbul in April 2019, Ben van Berkel of UNStudio will speak in the city’s UNIQ Hall on Tuesday 3 March. Van Berkel founded the practice with Caroline Bos in 1988 and has grown into an international architectural design network with offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. During his talk, Van Berkel will be introducing some of the practice’s completed projects and will present the studio’s recent research about architecture and the built environment.
All events will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.
RIBA + VitrA 2019-2020 Programme Schedule
LONDON, 10 December 2019:
7–8:30pm | RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
Eduardo Souto de Moura is a Portuguese architect whose work is well-known for its use of materiality; a characteristic that can be appreciated in The Vatican Chapels, the award-winning installation from the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Souto de Moura will present some of his recently completed projects, including the careful transformation of a historic Portuguese farming village into a hotel in São Lourenço do Barrocal.
Tickets to the Eduardo Souto de Moura talk can be found here. Please note this lecture will be delivered in Portuguese with translation provided through headsets.
LONDON, 28 January 2020:
7–8:30pm | RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD
Dorte Mandrup will discuss her eponymous studio’s hands-on approach to design and its commitment to improving the culture of architecture practice. Dorte’s strength is designing for complex and challenging sites with an insightfulness that addresses environmental and societal contexts. A preoccupation with exploring sculptural and material qualities in architecture leads to expressive, intriguing spaces that foreground their environment and the conditions from which they arise.
Tickets to the Dorte Mandrup talk can be purchased here.
DUNDEE, 18 February 2020:
6-7:15pm | V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ
Since a devastating earthquake hit Pakistan in 2005, Yasmeen Lari has been working to develop low-carbon and cost structures that can withstand earthquakes and floods in what she calls ‘barefoot architecture’. Lari will present her work with marginalised communities and the technical knowledge and training she has provided to individuals in these areas to build structures that are prepared for frequent natural disasters and extreme weather conditions.
Tickets to the Yasmeen Lari talk can be purchased here.
ISTANBUL, 3 March 2020:
7–8:30pm | Uniq Hall, Huzur, Maslak Ayazağa Cd. No:4, 34485 Sarıyer/İstanbul
Ben van Berkel founded UNStudio with Caroline Bos in 1988 and since then, the practice has grown into an international architectural design network with offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. At the RIBA + VitrA Talk in Istanbul, Ben will present some of the practice’s recently built works, future projects and new research.
Tickets will be available in early 2020. More information can be found here.
The RIBA + VitrA Talks create a platform for the global exchange of architectural ideas by bringing together internationally renowned voices. This reflects VitrA’s long-term commitment to adding cultural value to society through the exchange of architectural dialogue.
Levent Giray, Managing Director of VitrA UK, comments: “We are thrilled that the RIBA + VitrA Talks programme continues to provide a stage for such pivotal figures. With talks taking place throughout the UK, as well as in Istanbul where VitrA’s headquarters are, we are confident that we will create an inspirational forum for international architectural discourse.”
The 2018–19 RIBA + VitrA Talks programme consisted of a series of critically acclaimed lectures across the UK and in Istanbul. Speakers included Daniel Libeskind, Kazuyo Sejima of SANAA, Sir David Adjaye, Kate Macintosh, Frida Escobedo, Emre Arolat, MASS Design Group, Feilden Fowles and Grimshaw Architects.
For more information on the RIBA + VitrA Talks, please visit.
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