Architecture Utopia Realism: Guest Lecture Program 2013/14

Academic Year 2013-2014
31 October 2013 – 22 May 2014

by Ljiljana Blagojević, associate professor, vice dean for research

The term or concept of realism seems to be a recurring theme of the more recent theoretical inquiries, from debates in philosophy and aesthetics to those in theory and practice of architecture. In parallel, there is also the question of the real, such as the ‘return of the real’ discussed by Hal Foster or the ‘passion for the real’ introduced by the philosopher Alain Badiou as key to understanding the 20th century. Since 2000, the architectural discourse is concerned with the wide range of related issues coming from its own post-critical debates on utopianism and realism and the possibility of an ‘utopian realism’, as suggested by Reinhold Martin. The debates on realism resonate in the architectural theory anew as a reflection on the ‘Manifesto of New Realism’ by the philosopher Maurizio Ferraris from 2011. The questions of realism vs. postmodernism, ‘new realism’ on the ashes of post-modernism, critical and operative notions of realism and the like, have been asked both through practices of contemporary architecture and through consideration in history and theory of architecture.

The proposed theme Architecture Utopia Realism aims to further the on-going discussion on the relations of architecture with realism and utopia. In that sense, the speakers are invited to reflect on a multivalent relations of practices and theory of avant-garde, modern and contemporary architecture to concepts and issues, such as utopianism, realism, social realism, socialist realism, neo-realism, utopian realism, new realism and the like.

Design and Technologies
Johan Bettum

Professor, program director and interim dean at Städelschule Architecture Class, Frankfurt, Germany
Founder of ArchiGlobe, Frankfurt

Laureates and Candidates
Aristide Antonas

Architect and writer, Associate Professor, University of Thessaly, Department of Architecture, Greece
Founder of Antonas office, Athens

City and Society
Ezio Manzini

Professor of Industrial Design, Polytechnic, Milan, Italy
Director of Interdepartmental Centre for Research on Innovation for Sustainability, Polytechnic, Milan

City and Society
Matias Echanove

Writer and activist, Co-director of the Institute of Urbanology, Mumbai and Goa, India
Member of the URBZ.net collective

Design and Technologies
Tom van Malderen & Chris Briffa

Tom van Malderen, Architect and CEO of Architecture Project, Malta
Chris Briffa, Founder of Chris Briffa Architects, Valetta, Malta

Laureates and Candidates
Anne Lacaton

Founder and partner of Lacaton & Vassal Architects, Paris, France
Visiting professor at EPF Lausanne, Harvard GSD, ETSA Madrid, etc

City and Society
Emil Jurcan

Architect, Memer of Pulska grupa, Pula, Croatia
Co- founder of Praksa collective

Design and Technologies
Cristina Díaz Moreno & Efrén García (AMID.cero9)

Associated Professors of Architecture at ETSAM, Madrid and ESAYA, Madrid, Spain
Founders and partners of Amid.cero9, Madrid