DAY 1

morning session // 09 Jan 25

afternoon session // 09 Jan 25

DAY 2

morning session // 10 Jan 25

AFTERNOON session // 10 Jan 25

KeyNote Lecture:

Marta Malé-Alemany

18:30 - 20:00

Studios

Angius STUDIO

MOBILE HABITATS / CLIMATE SHIFTS / RESPONSIVE ARCHITECTURE / SOFT INFRASTRUCTURE

Our research explores design strategies for both mobility and habitation, with a particular focus on the environment as a meteorological entity. The studio develops mobile and responsive habitats that harmonize with the rhythms of nature, challenging traditional concepts of fixed and rigid boundaries. Our investigations encompass anthropogenic and natural habitats that are underdeveloped or overlooked, aiming to identify opportunities for meaningful contributions aligned with societal needs. The studio focuses on ecological and mechanical complexity, seeking to enable diverse levels of autonomy in movement, negotiation, and assembly strategies. We re-evaluate habitability as a minimal yet seamless extension of the human body—an adaptive, transformative interface that responds to environmental and programmatic fluctuations in constant motion. By rethinking infrastructure as dynamic and adaptable, we explore collective, large-scale occupancy strategies that emphasize self-sufficiency, adaptability, resource economy, and behavioral intelligence.

Bhooshan STUDIO

ARCHITECTURAL INTELLIGENCE FOR NEW CITIES

Agglomeration benefits of cities are by virtue of the high frequency interaction of human producers - of goods, services, culture, knowledge - and consumers in a compact footprint. Coupling this wealth creation mechanism, with increased need for new cities and densification of existing cities implies that there is an heightened need for low-risk sandboxes for rapid urban experimentation. The studio explores the creation of such virtual sandboxes to test both novel urban configurations that could aid the synergetic agglomeration and the architectural kit of parts that could enable its rapid physical realisation.

Schumacher STUDIO

VIRTUAL BAUHAUS - 21ST CENTURY SOCIAL LEARNING

The studio investigates the future of social communication in post-Covid-19 virtual spaces, spanning work, business, and educational interactions. It focuses on developing a Virtual Design School in the metaverse, integrating diverse disciplines and interaction spaces such as exhibition halls, lecture rooms, seminar areas, and design studios. Revisiting the premise that design is communicative framing, the studio explores how designed environments—physical and digital—coordinate and stabilize social interactions. Virtual spaces, seen as rich semantic territories, frame and define communication processes, offering dynamic layers of interaction. The research addresses the architectural challenge of creating multi-user virtual spaces as new domains for collaborative work and learning. Moving beyond static tools like Zoom, it experiments with spatially structured environments, promoting dynamic, inter-visible, and hierarchically flexible interactions. This project speculates on the transformative potential of cyberspace, bridging architectural theory and virtual interaction design to innovate in education and communication paradigms.

Spyropoulos Studio

ELEMENTAL

Within the contemporary condition, new conceptual terrains emerge that raise questions of agency and intelligence within a deep ecology of our environment. The work explored examines environmental phenomena in the service of sustaining life. The following are attempts to see "phenomenon as technology" aiming to expand the conversation on climate matters. Beyond material specification and net zero strategies, the challenges we face today may speak to the need to explore and prepare for a world that is ever more extreme and unstable. If it is environmental, social or political - the circumstances are planetary and necessitate strategies that go beyond mitigating our past mistakes and preparing for what is to come. 

guest critics

Mike Davies https://rshp.com/people/director-alumni/mike-davies/

Mike Davies joined the collaboration between Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano – Piano + Rogers - in 1971, shortly after they won the commission to design the Pompidou Centre. He worked on the Pompidou for six years and subsequently went on to be the project architect for the adjacent Institute for Research & Co-ordination in Acoustics & Music (IRCAM). Mike became one of the founding partners of Richard Rogers Partnership (RRP), along with Richard Rogers, John Young and Marco Goldschmied, and as a director worked on Lloyd’s of London. He was also the project director for INMOS - the UK Government microprocessor industry flagship in Wales; the Millennium Dome, (now the O2), and the Terminal 5 masterplan, and terminal buildings, at Heathrow Airport. Mike developed the practice’s urban design and master planning expertise with strategic masterplans for the Royal Docks, Leamouth. Wood Wharf, and the Greenwich Peninsula in London and the City of Dunkirk in France. He was also the project director for Grand Paris, a masterplan for Greater Paris 2025, commissioned by former President Sarkozy, to examine the changing needs of urban Paris in the 21st Century.

Marta Malé-Alemany https://www.amsterdamuas.com/profile/m/a/m.male-alemany/m.male-alemany.html

Marta Malé-Alemany is a doctor in architecture, researcher and curator specialized in the relationship and integration between design and digital production technologies. Marta is Associate professor in Digital Production at the Faculty of Technology of the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. Within this position, Marta guides the implementation of digital production for research and education, seeking solutions that contribute to the circular economy of the city. Marta graduated from ETSAB-UPC (Barcelona 1996), holds a Master Degree in Advanced Architectural Design from Columbia University (New York, 1997), and a PhD from ESTAB-UPC (Barcelona, 2016). Her doctoral thesis explores the potential of large-scale Additive Manufacturing technologies to innovate design and building construction.

Annamaria Anderloni https://www.fosterandpartners.com/people/all/annamaria-anderloni

Annamaria is a partner at Foster and Partners, specializing in interior design. She graduated in architecture and product design from the University of Turin and the ENSCI of Paris. She has extensive experience of working on hospitality, residential and corporate projects. Since joining Foster + Partners in 2007 she has been responsible for the interior design of numerous projects including the Four Seasons Hotel at Comcast Technology Center, Me Hotel London and Yacht Club de Monaco. Previously working as an exhibition designer, Annamaria is an art enthusiast who enjoys exhibitions, auctions and art fairs.

Marco Poletto https://www.ecologicstudio.com/about

Marco, co-founder and director of ecoLogicStudio, is an architect, author and educator. After graduating with Honors from Turin Polytechnic in Italy, Marco moved to London to study at the Architectural Association. He would then spend more than 10 years at the AA, as a student, teaching assistant and finally as Unit Master. He also directed AA international workshops in Istanbul and Turin before founding one of the first ever AA Visiting Schools, in Milano in 2010. Marco co-founded the ecoLogicStudio in 2005 in London with Prof. Claudia Pasquero. Over these past 12 years and under the direction of Claudia and Marco the ecoLogicStudio has built an international reputation for its pioneering work on bio-digital design, with projects ranging from temporary installations to the territorial scale proposals. Marco has been teaching and researching internationally; as Unit Master at the Architectural Association in London, as Senior Tutor at the IAAC in Barcelona, Visiting critic at Cornell University in Ithaca, Research LAB leader at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London, Distinguished Visiting Critic at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Innsbruck. In the past two years Marco has been also Adapt-r research fellow at the Aarhus School of Architecture and is now PhD Candidate at the RMIT Melbourne. The PhD, due to be completed in November 2018, is titled “Urbansphere. Architecture in the age of ubiquitous computing”.

Snezana Vesnic https://khorein.ifdt.bg.ac.rs/ch/index https://www.newonenow.net

Snežana Vesnić is a practicing architect and Assistant Professor at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture, where she teaches courses in architectural design and theory. She earned her doctorate in 2018 with a dissertation titled Philosophy and Aesthetics of the Architectural Concept. In 2020, she published the book Architectural Concept: Object of Reality and Subject of Illusion. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the international journal Khōrein: Journal for Architecture and Philosophy. In addition to her academic work, she has an extensive professional practice. She is a founder and member of the architectural studio Neo Arhitekti, whose projects have garnered numerous awards, including the Annual Award of the Union of Architects of Serbia for Villa Pavlović (2018), two nominations for the Mies van der Rohe Award (Villa Pavlović, 2019; Textil Office Building, Užice, 2009), and first prize in the competition for the RTS Memorial (2013). In 2023, she served as a jury member for the Young Talent Architecture Award (YTAA), granted by the Mies van der Rohe Foundation with the support of the European Commission’s Creative Europe program.

Jan Bunge https://www.squintopera.com/team/jan-bunge/

Jan Bunge is a visionary leader in digital innovation for the built environment. With over two decades of experience, he has transformed the intersection of architecture, technology, and sustainability through impactful projects and strategic collaborations. As Managing Director of Squint/Opera, Jan launched the New York studio and led high-profile projects such as the Empire State Building’s digital visitor experience and Toyota’s Woven City. He cultivated partnerships with Epic Games, Nvidia, and AWS, driving innovation in real-time visualization and immersive digital experiences. In 2019, Jan co-founded SpaceForm, an AI-powered 3D visualization platform, advancing collaboration and sustainability in urban design. With a background in landscape architecture, he brings a multidisciplinary approach, integrating design, technology, and ecological thinking. A thought leader and advisor, Jan contributes to organizations like the NLA Expert Panel on Technology and regularly speaks on the future of urbanism, ethics, and digital design. His work reimagines urban spaces as regenerative ecosystems that enhance biodiversity and human well-being. 

Dara Huang https://www.dhliberty.com/about

Dara Huang is the founder of Design Haus Liberty; an international architecture, interiors and design. The practice was established in London in 2013. S She holds a Master’s degree from Harvard University, where she regularly criticizes and is a member of the Harvard GSD Alumni Council and the AA. Dara started her career at Herzog de Meuron and Foster + Partners, London.
Dara Huang is the founder of DHLiberty, an Arch and Interiors studio based in London, she also founded Dara Maison, a furniture, homeware and lifestyle company. She judges various design competitions such as Dezeen Awards, and a design based UK TV show where she is a TV host and presenter for Channel 4. Dara is a regular spokesperson and ambassador for brands like: Lego, HP, Samsung, Cartier, and more. Dara has received numerous awards and honours including Property Weeks 40 under 40, BBC China's 100 Women, Prestige Hong Kong’s 40 under 40 and three RIBA competition recognitions and sits on the board for Prop Tech, is a member of the Milken Institute and Red Club Cartier. Dara has exhibited at Somerset House, London and the Architecture Venice Biennale.

Claudia Pasquero https://www.ecologicstudio.com/about

Claudia Pasquero is an architect, curator, author and educator, her work and research operates at the intersection of biology, computation and design. She is Professor of Landscape Architecture, founder of the Synthetic Landscape Lab and Head of Institute for IOUD at Innsbruck University; Associated Professor and director of the Urban Morphogenesis Lab at the Bartlett UCL in London; Co-founder and Director of ecoLogicStudio, design innovation company, in London.Claudia has been Head Curator of the Tallinn Architectural Biennale 2017, and she has been nominated in the WIRED smart list in the same year.She is co-author of "Systemic Architecture - Operating manual for the self-organizing city" published by Routledge in 2012.

Homa Farjadi - https://www.design.upenn.edu/architecture/graduate/people/homa-farjadi-0

Homa Farjadi teaches advanced architectural studios and heads Penn's study abroad program in London. Prior to her appointment at Penn she has taught at the AA School of Architecture (1980-87), GSD Harvard University (1989-96) and has held chaired visiting professorships at Yale, Penn and Edinburgh universities and visiting professorships at Columbia University and University of Virginia. Homa Farjadi, MArch, AA Grad Dip RIBA ARB is principal of FARJADI ARCHITECTS in London and Practice Professor of Architecture at University of Pennsylvania where she conducts graduate level research studios and a studio on London urbanism. She is directly involved with individual projects in the office in close collaboration with members of the office. Professionally she has served as master jury member of the Agha Khan Architecture Awards and other international architectural design awards and competitions. Delayed space, a monograph of her work together with with Mohsen Mostafavi was published in 1994. Sense Geometries, more recent work of FARJADI ARCHITECTS was printed in September 2008 by Actar Publishers.

Suhair Kahn - https://www.suhairkhan.com/

Suhair Khan is a technology entrepreneur and creative leader. She is the founder of open-ended design, a platform and incubator for creative technologists working with artificial intelligence. Her work centers on impact-driven work at the intersection of design, culture and future-facing technology.In over a decade at Google and Google Arts & Culture, Suhair led initiatives which merged cutting edge technologies with arts, design, culture, education and environmental sustainability. Her work cut across products in machine learning, AI, hybrid realities and search, as well as emerging markets.She is chair of the board of trustees of dance choreographer Studio Wayne McGregor, and is on the board of trustees / advisory committees to the Design Museum, British Library, Sadler’s Wells, London Design Biennale and the UK’s Museum of the Year Prize. A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard University, she is currently a visiting lecturer at Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design where she lectures on technology and spatial practices.