International Convention of Architecture
25. March 2022, Friday
MVM Dome (1098 Budapest, Ülloi út 131.)
The central theme of the event: THE NATURE OF ARCHITECTURE
How should we – as architects, designers, planners, artists and creatives – respond to nature, to the environment, and to a changing climate? . This international symposium will explore the nature of architecture: as something that uses and imposes itself on the environment. It is a human-centric, creative process that has, in recent years, come to be seen as harmful or environmentally risky.
Not too long ago, cities were seen as a progressive social organisations, whereas now – through the prism of the climate crisis – we seem to be interpreting city life: transport, energy-use, mobility, congestion, development, population... in potentially terrifying terms? The post-war vision to create a better quality of life (a better world) by conscious planning and ambitious development is much ridiculed these days. Nowadays, it is common to hear the future spoken of with trepidation rather than anticipation.
However, post-Covid there seems to be a sense that the world is changing. Some now believe that we can transform the future for the better by adapting 'degrowth', smaller footprints, less travel, lower energy use. Is this the solution? Or is this a backwards step?
This symposium welcomes opinions that will shine a light on the discussion and hopefully will clarify the terms of the debate.
Adviser and chair: Austin Williams, director of Future Cities Project, senior lecturer at Kingston School of Art and Honorary Research Fellow in architecture at XJTLU university in Suzhou, China.
08.00–09.00 Registration
09.00–10.00 Welcome an opening ceremony
10.00–10.50 Lecture of Austin Williams director of Future Cities Project, senior lecturer at Kingston School of Art and Honorary Research Fellow in architecture at XJTLU university in Suzhou, China:
Nature of Architecture
10.50–11.30 Coffee break
11.30–12.20 Lecture of Ulf Meyer (Architectural critic, San Francisco, Berlin)
12.20–13.10 Lecture of Boonserm Premthada (Bangkok Project Studio, Bangkok, Thailand)
13.10–14.10 Lunch
14.10–15.00 Lecture of Ken Yeang (TR Hamzah & Yeang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
15.00–15.50 Lecture of Patrik Schumacher (online) and Gianluca Racana (on site) (Zaha Hadid Architects, London)
15.50–16.30 Coffee break, award ceremony
16.30–17.00 Introduction of the venue by György Skardelli (Közti Zrt., Budapest)
17.00–18.30 Tour on the new Museum of Ethnography and House of Music, guided by the designers
