IE School of Architecture & Design Newsletter - April 2021

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time to focus on ON NEVER REALLY KNOWING With World Book Day coming up, we’ve been thinking about knowledge. In its most traditional sense, the role of any university is to transmit knowledge, so that each generation benefits from what came before. But universities also have a more generative, forward-looking role: one based not merely on receiving and forwarding knowledge, but on dismantling and re-examining things we assumed we knew. It is this second approach that animates much of what we do at this school. We understand knowledge not as an established canon to be mastered or acquired, but as a process of proposing, testing, reevaluating - and proposing again.  This fluid definition of knowledge parallels the design process itself. I have often said that no design is ever truly finished - the designer simply runs out of time. The final product gives the impression of being whole but, given five more minutes, the author would surely find something to add, change or remove.  I understand knowledge to work in a similar way: it is always incomplete, always in a state of becoming, always submitting itself to a friendly cross-examination. David Goodman Associate Dean at IE School of Architecture and Design

Pritzker paints a new picture Paris-based architects Anne Lacaton and Jean-Philippe Vassal, known for their sensitive, flexible approach to community-led architecture, were named winners of this year’s Pritzker Architecture Prize last month. Our Dean, Martha Thorne, believes the decision sent a powerful message about environmental responsibility, community-building and respect for what already exists. In this article, Thorne reflects on the award’s evolution since its founding in 1979 and what this year’s winners signal about today’s times. “A page has been turned in the era of the starchitect,” she says. “Lacaton and Vassal have revealed a world in which architecture can be of service: building on our history, renovating our present and moving towards a more hopeful future.” READ MORE

Reflecting on innovations in learning After more than a year of living with the pandemic, we have been reflecting on the innovative learning methodologies that educational institutions everywhere have adapted to. In our faculty, our Liquid Learning model has proven crucial. In this video, Andrea Caruso, professor in the Bachelor in Design, explains how the model is implemented in Design Studio, a project-based subject following the design process from the initial concept to the final presentation, covering elements like sketching, prototyping, materials and photography. “The Liquid Learning model aims to create a collaborative, personalised and active learning experience that can be applied to the student’s professional life,” explains Caruso. WATCH HERE

Welcoming our new MBArch intake This month, we host the new students of the 2021 Master in Business for Architecture and Design for a two-week residency, to get a grasp of the different roles shaping the businesses of architecture and design, with workshops and talks featuring representatives from organisations like UNStudio, Gehl, Archipreneur and Snøhetta. They will also attend an exclusive lecture by Carlo Ratti, renowned architect and professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he directs the Senseable City Lab. Also this month, current students finishing the same MBArch programme will have their graduation ceremony in Madrid. LEARN ABOUT MBARCH

Prologue Magazine, Issue 2 The latest edition of Prologue Magazine is out now. This student-run publication serves as a platform for discussion and self-expression through contributions from students across the architecture and design faculties. The theme of the new issue is ‘Posthumous Geographies’ - an exploration of death as something deeply embedded in our ambiguous current condition. “We live in a time when death can be a solid ideology or a monetized commodity,” say editor-in-chief Sarah Al Atiyat and issue curator Ujal Gorchu. “We’d like to think of death not simply as an end but rather a constructive event capable of triggering new beginnings.” GET A COPY

Fixed & Loose April 15, 2.00 pm (CET) Online The interdisciplinary Mixtape Talks series brings together speakers from various fields related to the built environment. In this edition - the last in the series - we invite Momoyo Kaijima (co-founder of Atelier Bow-Wow), Thomas Daniell (professor of architecture at the University of Kyoto) and Yuriko Furuhata (associate professor of East Asian studies at MGill University). The panelists will discuss the myriad of ephemeral, mundane artefacts that make up art, architecture and city - the shadow of falling leaves, an umbrella left at a park bench, the sound of a church bell - and what inspiration practitioners might take from observing them. REGISTER HERE

How to Drive Change in Cities April 15, 6.00 pm (CET) Online How can we make our cities more liveable? Expert ‘change-maker’ Gerald Babel-Sutter has the answers. He is the founder of the Urban Future Global Conference, a platform that evolved from a local workshop into a meeting place for almost 3000 participants from across Europe. Through his long-standing relationships with city planners and urban decision-makers, he offers valuable insights into the development of international metropolises. At this talk, he will inspire attendees to become part of the change-making movement, sharing insights on how to drive change in cities and what we can expect from UFGC21 this autumn. REGISTER HERE

Building Words, Building Worlds: The Enduring Importance of the Architectural Book April 22, 6.30 pm (CET) Online The protagonist of Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris warned that the printed book would eventually destroy architecture itself, so great was its ability to communicate directly to a mass public. Hugo’s belief in the power of the book remains relevant today, as we are confronted with a flood of new architectural media that challenges the primacy of the architectural book as a mode of research, documentation and reflection. To mark World Book Day, architects Farshid Moussavi and Iñaki Ábalos join us for a lively discussion on the enduring power of the architectural book, its future and its role in the development and dissemination of architectural thought. REGISTER HERE

A month to celebrate great books In celebration of World Book Day, coming up on 23 April, we’ll be sharing various recommendations by students and professors from across our school of some of the most remarkable books about architecture and design to check out. Keep an eye on our Instagram channel if you're looking for some reading inspiration! And if you have a recommendation that you’d like us to share on our channel, just post a photo of the book with the hashtag #WorldBookDay, mentioning @iearchdesign.

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