Events

Lecture by Aaron Betsky

683 1024 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Aaron Betsky, critic of art, architecture, and design, will lecture on Monday 11 November at 5 pm.

The lecture is part of the University by Design event series — coproduced by the Architecture Programs of the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University in Florence, California State University International Programs Italy and Kent State University Florence — which focuses on the topic of studying architecture abroad. This collaborative forum will consist of two public lectures aimed at reimagining the collective educational space and proposing innovative models for contemporary practice.

Aaron Betsky’s lecture, titled Don’t Build, Rebuild. The Case for Imaginative Reuse in Architecture, will explore the concept of architectural reuse through beautiful and thought-provoking examples. He argues that instead of constructing new buildings, we should repurpose and reimagine our existing built environment, making it more open and accessible. This approach, he believes, is the only truly sustainable path forward.

Aaron Betsky is a renowned critic of art, architecture, and design and the author of over twenty books on those subjects. He was Professor and Director of the School of Architecture and Design at Virginia Tech and, prior to that, President of the School of Architecture at Taliesin. He writes a twice-weekly blog, Beyond Buildings, for Architect Magazine. Trained as an architect and in the humanities at Yale, Mr. Betsky has served as the Director of the Cincinnati Art Museum (2006-2014) and the Netherlands Architecture Institute (2001-2006), as well as Curator of Architecture and Design at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (1995-2001). In 2008, he also directed the 11th Venice International Biennale of Architecture.

Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné)

683 1024 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Szabolcs Molnár, architect and founding partner of Paradigma Ariadné, will lecture on Tuesday 22 October at 5 pm at Kent State University Florence CAED. His lecture, titled Topological narratives: a guided tour through Ariadne’s landscapes, will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Szabolcs Molnár’s lecture will discuss some of their recent projects, which include sensitive interventions in natural landscapes. These projects are closely aligned with the design tasks you are engaging with in the Architecture studios this semester.

Szabolcs Molnár graduated from the Department of Public Building Design, Faculty of Architecture, Budapest University of Technology and Economics in 2014. Between 2010-2015 he was a member of the Advanced Architecture College, in 2013-2014 its president. In 2016, he co-founded the Paradigma Ariadne Studio with his two partners, Attile Csóka and David Smiló. He is co-curator of the Hungarian Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2021. In 2021 visiting professor at Dortmund University of Technology. In 2022 lecturer at the Metropolitan University of Budapest. Between 2021 and 2024, he is a fellow of the Hungarian Academy of Arts Research Institute of Art Theory and Methodology Department of Architecture. Paradigma Ariadné is a studio of 8 years, which has been included in numerous international group and solo exhibitions and published in renowned journals and magazines.
www.paradigmaariadne.com

Lecture by Mia Fuller

1024 719 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Mia Fuller, cultural anthropologist and urban-architectural historian, will lecture on Tuesday 15 October at 5 pm.

The lecture is part of the University by Design event series — coproduced by the Architecture Programs of the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University in Florence, California State University International Programs Italy and Kent State University Florence — which focuses on the topic of studying architecture abroad. This collaborative forum will consist of two public lectures aimed at reimagining the collective educational space and proposing innovative models for contemporary practice.

Mia Fuller’s lecture, titled Nation, Colony, Empire, and Expectations: Italy’s Settler Colonial Designs in Context(s), addresses designs for state-sponsored Italian settlements in the modern Italian colonial era (1869-1943), with an emphasis on the 1930s, when the Fascist regime financed and oversaw settlements for relocated Italians within Italy’s national borders and in the formal African colonies too, with only minor variations between the ideas informing their architectural and urban designs.

Do the continuities in design between ‘nation’ and ‘colony’ or ‘Empire’ matter when it comes to our understandings of these sites? (Historians tend to think that yes, while architectural historians not as much.) And does the fact that the government at the time insisted on the expression “internal colonization” mean that we should regard internal-settlement programs as “colonial” ones? (Historians tend to think that no, while architectural historians are more easily convinced.) And, ultimately, how do these decisions about interpretation shape our understandings of Fascist and colonial vestiges?

Dr. Mia Fuller is Gladyce Arata Terrill Distinguished Professor of Italian Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. A cultural anthropologist, she writes on Italian colonial and fascist architecture and urbanism (Moderns Abroad: Architecture, Cities, Italian Imperialism, 2007; contributions to Routledge Companion to Italian Fascist Architecture, 2020, and Oxford Research Encyclopedia African History, 2020). She is completing a new book on the post-Fascist endurance of the 1930s land-reclamation and internal settlement program in Italy’s Pontine Marshes, titled Monuments and Mussolini: A Cultural History of Fascist Memory.

Lecture by Lucas ter Hall (Studio RAP)

1024 768 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Lucas ter Hall, architect and founding partner of Studio RAP, will lecture on Tuesday 8 October at 5 pm at Kent State University Florence CAED. His lecture, titled Digital Craftsmanship in Architecture, will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Lucas ter Hall’s lecture will explore the work of Studio RAP (Robotic Architecture and Production) and the practice’s approach to design and fabrication as an iterative process—one in which algorithms and machines are considered collaborators.

Lucas ter Hall is a co-founder of Studio RAP, an award-winning architectural design and fabrication firm based in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Alongside co-founder Wessel van Beerendonk, they are dedicated to bringing innovation to architecture through emerging digital technologies, aiming to inspire people worldwide.
Since the establishment of Studio RAP, Lucas, and Wessel have led various projects, including Theatre Zuidplein, The Float, New Delft Blue, and Ceramic House. The studio’s mission is to enrich the world with a new architectural language, breaking barriers and making the world more exciting and diverse.
Studio RAP has been selected by Architectural Record as one of the best emerging firms worldwide, joining the 2024 Design Vanguard cohort.

www.studiorap.nl 

 

Lecture by Elena Orte (SUMA)

1024 580 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Elena Orte, architect and founding partner at SUMA, will lecture on Tuesday 16 September at 5 pm at Kent State University Florence CAED. Her lecture, titled “Ecosystemic Design”, will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Elena’s lecture will explore how ecological principles influence building structures. Elena will argue that structures should not be viewed solely through physics or material efficiency but as part of a broader ecosystem, interconnected with living organisms. Her approach challenges the traditional separation between architecture and engineering, proposing a more holistic and integrated perspective.

Elena Orte holds a Master’s Degree in Advanced Architectural Design from the Polytechnic University of Madrid (ETSAM). She co-founded SUMA with Guillermo Sevillano in 2005, and the firm has won numerous national and international competitions, including the Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona, a Library and Multipurpose Center in Fuerteventura, 50 public housing units for the Municipality of Madrid, and 73 public housing units in San Sebastián de los Reyes. She is currently a professor at IE University and the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, where she leads a course on advanced ecological structures.

www.sumaarquitectura.eu 

 

Lecture by Mathias Brockdorff (PAX architects)

819 1024 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Mathias Brockdorff, architect and partner at PAX Architects, based in Aarhus, Denmark, will be joining us as a guest speaker on Tuesday 2 April at 5:00 pm. His lecture, titled “Meaningful Spaces: Culture as Catalyst for Informal Dialogue,” will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Mathias’s lecture will showcase recent projects undertaken by PAX Architects, focusing particularly on public institutions, especially cultural ones. These projects are founded on the belief that architecture holds the transformative power to positively influence people’s lives.

Mathias Brockdorff (born in 1989) graduated from the School of Architecture in Aarhus, Denmark, in 2015. Since then, he has actively contributed to numerous national and international projects, specializing in cultural and residential construction, urban development, and transformation. With a deep involvement in the design process, Mathias assumes a central role in project development and narrative shaping.
In 2021, Mathias became a Partner at PAX architects, joining forces with Co-Partners Mads Lassen and Thomas Bossel. Prior to this, he collaborated with them at Schmidt/Hammer/Lassen architects, working in both Shanghai and Aarhus.
Each project undertaken reflects a commitment to crafting visionary, site-specific, and immersive architecture, aiming to enhance the quality of people’s lives and contribute to the broader community.
Grounded in the Nordic architectural tradition, Mathias adopts an approach centered on humanism, simplification, and craftsmanship. His overarching ambition is to consistently create extraordinary spaces that elevate the ordinary aspects of everyday life.

www.pax.dk

 

Lecture by Marianna Rentzou (Point Supreme)

1024 697 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Marianna Rentzou, architect and founding partner at Point Supreme, based in Athens, will lecture on Tuesday 12 March at 5 pm. Her lecture, titled “The Way We Live,” , will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Marianna will showcase a selection of their projects, encompassing both built structures and conceptual designs. In these endeavors, Point Supreme fearlessly blends elements of low and high culture, merges industrial and vernacular components, and juxtaposes iconic architectural tropes with everyday features. 

Marianna Rentzou and Konstantinos Pantazis established Point Supreme in Rotterdam in 2008 after living and working in Athens, London, Brussels, Tokyo and Rotterdam. The essence of their work lies in seamlessly integrating research, architecture, and urban design. Their accolades include 1st prizes in various international competitions such as for a Social Housing in Trondheim, a Pier on the coast of Athens, a sheltered public space in Tel Aviv (built), a Firestation in Belgium (built), the New Architecture school in Marseille (built) and an Artists Centre in Genk (C-mine Atelier, built).
Point Supreme consistently contributes to architectural discourse by publishing self-initiated projects for Athens. Their portfolio has been showcased at esteemed events such as the Venice and Chicago Biennale and the Lisbon Triennale. Notably, their work has been documented in three books: ‘Athens Projects’ (Graham Foundation, 2015), ‘Radical Realities’ (Divisare, 2017), and a dedicated issue of a+u magazine (May 2023).
Beyond their design practice, Marianna and Konstantinos have shared their expertise as educators at institutions like Columbia University in New York and EPFL in Lausanne. Recognized among the 20 most influential personalities in Greece by a leading Greek newspaper, they are actively engaged in building projects both within Greece and abroad.

http://www.pointsupreme.com

 

Lecture by Arto Ollila (AOR Architects)

1024 683 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Arto Ollila (architect and founding partner at AOR Architects in Helsinki, Finland) will offer us a lecture on Tuesday 5 March at 5:00 pm. His lecture is titled “Crafting the Odds: Public Buildings by AOR Architects” and will be introduced by prof. Marco Brizzi. 

Arto’s presentation will delve into AOR’s expertise in designing public buildings, particularly schools, and will take us through the studio’s design process, showcasing in-progress materials – like models, sketches, and construction photos – in addition to the final, completed works.

AOR combines aesthetic, ecological, social, practical and economic demands into memorable architecture that is in harmony with its context. Their work has been awarded with Finnish State Prize for Architecture in 2021 and Pietilä Prize in 2018.

Based in Helsinki, they work with building design consisting of public buildings, housing and business premises. In addition, they are experienced in urban design and city planning with projects ranging from small urban interventions to large city plans. AOR has particular expertise in designing future learning environments, museums and other complex public buildings in demanding urban settings, as well as additions in delicate historical contexts and natural surroundings.

www.aor.fi

 

Lecture by Mario Carpo

701 1024 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Mario Carpo, architectural historian and critic, will lecture on Tuesday 27 February at 5 pm.

The lecture is part of the University by Design event series — coproduced by the Architecture Programs of the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University in Florence, California State University International Programs Italy and Kent State University Florence — which focuses on the topic of studying architecture abroad. This collaborative forum will consist of two public lectures aimed at reimagining the collective educational space and proposing innovative models for contemporary practice.

Mario Carpo’s lecture is titled Generative AI, the Canon, and the Automated Transfiguration of Architectural Precedent. It examines how generative AI is bringing the practice of imitation back to design schools and the design professions. Computer scientists call such models a “dataset,” but in architecture we used to call them a tradition, convention, or “canon.” And designers know full well every canonized precedent is based on preference, and that preference often stands for prejudice.

Mario Carpo is an architectural historian and critic. His research focuses on the history of early modern architecture and on the theory and criticism of contemporary design and technology. Currently he is the Reyner Banham Professor of Architectural History and Theory at the Bartlett, University College London and the Professor of Architectural Theory at the Institute of Architecture of the University of Applied Arts (die Angewandte) in Vienna (emeritus since end 2023). His research and publications focus on history of early modern architecture and on the theory and criticism of contemporary design and technology. His award-winning Architecture in the Age of Printing (MIT Press, 2001) has been translated into several languages.  His most recent books are The Alphabet and the Algorithm (2011); The Second Digital Turn: Design Beyond Intelligence (2017); and Beyond Digital. Design and Automation at the End of Modernity (2023), all published by the MIT Press.

Lecture by Federica Vannucchi

779 501 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design

Federica Vannucchi, Academic Director of the Pratt Rome Program, will lecture on Tuesday 20 February at 5 pm.

The lecture is part of the University by Design event series — coproduced by the Architecture Programs of the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Syracuse University in Florence, California State University International Programs Italy and Kent State University Florence — which focuses on the topic of studying architecture abroad. This collaborative forum will consist of two public lectures aimed at reimagining the collective educational space and proposing innovative models for contemporary practice.

Federica Vannucchi’s lecture is titled Rome as a Pedagogical Project. It evaluates the multiple dimensions of contemporary Italy as a space of enquiry for architecture students today. It will trace the origins of North American university programs in Italy, which continue the tradition of the Grand Tour as established in the 17th century for architecture students to visit the southern regions of Europe. In them, Italy is an open air museum. While the understanding of Italy as an extensive archeological living site should be both acknowledged and preserved, the present life of the country cannot be overlooked.

Dr. Federica Vannucchi is the Academic Director of the Pratt Rome Program. A licensed architect and an architectural historian, her research explores Italian modern architecture, architectural pedagogy, and exhibitions as platforms for cultural, political, and diplomatic exchange. Her work is widely published and includes Architecture’s Afterlife: The Multisector Impact of an Architecture Degree (Routledge, 2023), “The Human Body as Space of Diplomacy: Studi sulle Proporzioni at the 1951 IX Milan Triennale” in Italian Imprints on Twentieth Century Architecture (Bloomsbury, 2022); “In Search of A New Visual Vocabulary: The University of Architecture of Florence (1964-69)” in Radical Pedagogies (MIT, 2022); “The 1968 XIV Triennale of Milan” in Exhibit A: Exhibitions That Transformed Architecture (Phaidon, 2018); “The Contested Subject: The Greater Number at the 1968 XIV Triennale of Milan” in Exhibiting Architecture: A Paradox? (Actar, 2015). Her upcoming book, titled A Disciplinary Mechanism: The Milan Triennale, 1964–1973, focuses on the Triennale di Milano as a space for discussing design with respect to changing political administrations and international policy. She has co-curated a number of design exhibitions, including Radical Pedagogies (2014) which was awarded a Special Mention at the 14th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale. She has worked in architecture firms, including Peter Eisenman Architects where she co-designed, among other projects, the City of Culture of Santiago de Compostela. She has taught architectural and urban history and theory as well as design studios at Pratt, Yale, Parsons, Princeton, and Columbia GSAPP.
She is a graduate of the University of Florence (MArch summa cum laude), and Yale University where she was granted an outstanding academic performance award, going on to receive her PhD in History, Theory and Criticism from Princeton University.