Lecture Series: Methodologies of Matter
With climate change fully underway, professionals of the built environment can no longer ignore the epochal challenges that lie ahead of them. The building industry is responsible for 40 % of annual global CO2 emissions. Disciplines such as architecture and civil engineering face a pressing need, therefore, to radically question and audaciously redefine their long established values, principles and standards. Not only is the use of materials and technologies to be reviewed critically, also the methods and actions of professionals themselves are under close scrutiny as is the role of state legislation that frames and sometimes severely limits possible change. Such change transcends size: territories, urban areas, infrastructures, buildings and their components – each scale has its own implications and impact and needs to be rethought.
It is vis-à-vis in this multitude of challenges that the lecture series Methodologies of matter explores new pathways for the built-environment disciplines. It brings together experts working – in theory and practice – on those aspects, scales and methodologies that are likely to shape the future (re)creation of matter. If what we can touch, touches our existence, if materials are no longer matters of fact but matters of concern, then how can we rethink and creatively re-appropriate the substantiality and sensuality of the built environment in its production, tectonics and perception? How can we re-imagine? more sustainable ways forward for the disciplines of the built environment?These are only some of the questions that our lecture series will address.
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April 23rd, 5pm (HOLCIM): Prof. Kerstin Kuchta, "Circular material for circular cities"
Kerstin Kuchta is the director of the Circular Resource Engineering and Management research institute and has been a full professor at the 足球比分,即时比分直播 University of Technology (TUHH) since 2010. She received her Diplom in environmental engineering at the Berlin University of Technology and started her career as a researcher at Darmstadt University of Technology. Her PhD was in the field of recovery and utilization of incinerator bottom ashes. From 2002 to 2010 she was a full professor for energy and environmental management at 足球比分,即时比分直播 University of Applied Science (HAW) and founding dean of the Faculty of Engineering at the German-Kazakh University (DKU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2011 she came to the 足球比分,即时比分直播 University of Technology to establish the new research field of waste resources. Her major research interests are the circular economy of polymers, rare earth elements, and critical metals, and the bioeconomy in circular cities.
May 7th, 5pm (HOLCIM): Lukasz Lendzinski, "How can dreams be made tangible?"
Lukasz Lendzinski has received several grants and prizes in the context of umschichten, including from the Akademie Schloss Solitude and the Ujazdowski Castle Centre for Contemporary Art Warsaw, as well as first prize in the Marianne Brandt Competition for Material Effects. In addition to being documented in their own catalogs, his projects have also been reported on extensively in other publications, most recently in the 2024 edition of the Transurban Residency or the 2023 publication Angst Ekel Scheitern (Urbanophil Verlag). In addition to having a successful practice, Lukasz has also been active in teaching since 2010. He was a visiting professor at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG) in 2019 and currently teaches at the Institute for Media and Design at TU Braunschweig.
June 4th, 5pm (HOLCIM): Prof. Dipl-Ing. J?rg Schr?der, "Circular Design: An urban and territorial perspective for systemic and cultural change"
J?rg Schr?der is full professor and Chair for Territorial Design and Urban Planning at Leibniz University Hannover LUH, Dean for Research of the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape, and directing the doctoral college Architecture of Territories. As an architect and urban planner his focus is on urbanism and architecture for sustainable transition and territorial innovation, with a focus on design research, emerging creative habitats, and circular dynamics.
June 4th, 5.30pm (HOLCIM): Prof. Dott. Arch. Maddalena Ferretti, "TRANSSCALAR: Beyond architecture, towards a creative holistic approach for the reactivation of habitats"
Maddalena Ferretti (Architect, international PhD at IUAV) is an associate professor in Architectural and Urban Design and Coordinator of the Master Degree in Building-Engineering Architecture at the Università Politecnica delle Marche (UNIVPM), Italy. Her research highlights the centrality of architectural design as a tool for the regeneration and transformation of marginal contexts and inner territories in combination with a transcalar approach.
June 11th, 5pm (HS 200): Prof. Harald Kloft, "The unity of material, process and form in the digital age"
Harald Kloft is a civil engineer and professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig, where he leads the Institute of Structural Design. Since 2020, he has been the spokesperson for the Collaborative Research Center TRR 277 Additive Manufacturing in Civil Engineering. Additionally, he has held the position of Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences at TU Braunschweig since 2017. His research focuses on additive manufacturing in construction and the development of sustainable building concepts.
June 18th, 5pm (HOLCIM): Prof. Neil Thomas, "Two worlds: The world of modern technology and the natural world"
Neil Thomas is a British structural engineer. He founded the renowned Atelier One in 1989, a London-based creative studio. Embracing a holistic approach to structural design, Neil emphasizes active involvement throughout the design process, stressing the importance of harmony between form and function. He encourages his team to prioritize fundamental structural principles over excessive reliance on computer analysis. Neil is known for pioneering the use of innovative materials, such as Carbon Fibre, to reduce the weight of touring structures. His extensive expertise is evident in a wide range of completed projects, spanning from large-scale roofs to arts installations, utilizing various materials including timber, steel, concrete, and even Lego. Neil also holds prominent educational roles in both the UK and US, most notably as a Visiting Professor at Yale and MIT.
July 1st, 5.30pm (Gleishalle): Prof. Fabio Gramazio, "Digital Materiality"
Fabio Gramazio has been a leading figure in the fields of computational design and digital fabrication in architecture. His research and practice have contributed significantly to advancing the use of computational and robotic technologies in the building industry. He and Matthias Kohler, together with the group around GKR, have lectured and exhibited their work worldwide and have received numerous awards for their contributions to the field.
For more information about the lectures please have a look at our website:?Agenda - RTG 2725 (hcu-hamburg.de)
The RTG Urban future-making?is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and jointly organised by HafenCity Universit?t 足球比分,即时比分直播 (HCU) in cooperation with Technische Universit?t 足球比分,即时比分直播 (TUHH) and Universit?t 足球比分,即时比分直播 (UHH). It investigates the agency of the built environment professionals in the face of pressing challenges for transformative change.?On the website you can find more information about the researchers and the research projects. More information:?https://urban-future-making.hcu-hamburg.de
