The first lecture of the Students to Students series will present the art of Gothic builders in new forms
At the Faculty of Architecture of the Czech Technical University in Prague, a free lecture series STUDENTS TO STUDENTS will begin, kicking off on Monday, March 9, 2015, with a lecture by Prof. Dr. Philippe Block from ETH Zurich titled CONSTRUCTING NEW SHELLS: LEARNING FROM THE GOTHIC MASTER BUILDERS. The series is organized by the Vice-Dean for International Relations of the Faculty of Architecture, Professor Zdeněk Zavřel, and the students themselves select the topics and guests as part of the Pall Mall format. Throughout the summer semester 2014/15, a total of five foreign, thematically diverse speakers will present. Lectures will take place every Monday at 6:30 PM in the GOČÁR hall, Faculty of Architecture, CTU, Thákurova 9, Prague 6.
The first topic – statically informed conceptual design, graphical statics, was selected by the expert assistant and PhD student, doc. Miloš Florián (atelier FLO|W) Ing. arch. Lukáš Kurilla: “I met Prof. Block last year during my internship at Information Architecture at ETH Zurich. I consulted with him about my PhD work on Static Analysis for Architects. And since my topic of statically informed design is related to the research of the BLOCK Research Group, which Professor Block leads at ETH, we later decided to jointly apply for the Sciex grant”. The grant allowed Lukáš Kurilla to return to ETH Zurich, where he is currently completing his doctoral thesis.
Philippe Block is a professor of architecture and construction at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zurich). His work lies at the intersection of architecture and statics; in his research, Prof. Block focuses on the method of shape finding, analysis, and manufacturing of curved surfaces in masonry structures. In practice, Prof. Block engages in the static assessment of historical monuments and the design of unique, purely compressed structures. He collaborates with Zaha Hadid Architects, Herzog & de Meuron, Baumschlager Eberle, and Danish-Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson, and his work has been exhibited at the 2009 Design Triennale in New York and the 2012 Venice Biennale.
At ETH Zurich, Prof. Block leads the BLOCK Research Group, specialized in methods of static optimization and "form-finding," based on graphical statics. The motto of the group is "Learning from the past to design better future." Inspiration from history and rediscovered knowledge that can be utilized for the design and construction of unique structures will be the main theme of Block's lecture in March at the Faculty of Architecture of CTU. He will present projects of free-standing stone vaults, realizations in developing countries, as well as examples of the application of modern construction methods for the design and implementation of thin-walled concrete shells.
Program:
Prof. Dr. Philippe Block (ETH Zurich) - Constructing New Shells: Learning from the Gothic Master Builders, - March 9, 2015
Dr. Yeoryia Manolopoulou (The Bartlett School of Architecture) - Architectural Research at Bartlett - March 30, 2015
Alexander Hagner (graupenraub) - Mies van der Rohe Award 2014, social projects in Austria - April 13, 2015
Prof. Manuel Couceiro (Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade de Lisboa) - Descriptive Geometry for Architects - April 20, 2015
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Jörg Knieling M. A. (HafenCity Universität Hamburg) - Hafen City Hamburg - May 11, 2015
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