Events

Lecture by Annalisa Metta

 1024 881 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design
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Annalisa Metta, Full Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Roma Tre, will lecture on Tuesday 11 February at 5:30 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.

Annalisa Metta’s lecture, titled Out in the Open. Designing Exposed Landscapes, will explore how designing landscapes means creating open, exposed spaces where the environment is both revealed and engaged with. She will explain that when we design these outdoor spaces, we are not just arranging elements — we are also inviting vulnerability and trust, as both the landscape and the designer participate and evolve together.

Annalisa Metta is a Full Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Roma Tre. She holds a Ph.D. in the architecture of parks, gardens, and spatial planning and was awarded the Italian Fellowship at the American Academy in Rome (2016–2017). Her research examines the contemporary architecture of open spaces through a blend of theoretical-critical insights and applied inquiry. In 2007, she became one of the founding partners of Osa, a landscape architecture studio based in Rome. In 2023, she curated Nature at Home, part of the Home Sweet Home exhibition at the Milan Triennale. Her publications include Il paesaggio è un mostro. Città selvatiche e nature ibride (DeriveApprodi, 2022) and the entry “Paesaggio” in the XI Appendice of the Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti (Treccani, 2024).

Lecture by Juan Elvira (MURADO&ELVIRA)

 1024 683 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design
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Juan Elvira, architect and co-founder of Madrid-based architecture studio MURADO&ELVIRA, will lecture on Tuesday 4 February 2025 at 3 pm at Kent State University Florence CAED. His lecture, titled Myspace: an Architectural Appropriation, will focus on the Teknobyen Student Housing in Trondheim, Norway—a project MURADO&ELVIRA completed a few years ago. As the architects describe, the project “unifies situations of extreme intimacy with those of extroversion and collaboration,” making it a valuable reference for this semester’s Architecture Studio project brief.

MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen – photo Matthias Herzog
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen – photo Imagen Subliminal
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen – photo Matthias Herzog
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen – photo Imagen Subliminal
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen – photo Imagen Subliminal

Murado & Elvira is a Madrid-based multidisciplinary office founded by Juan Elvira and Clara Murado in 2003 dedicated to innovative architecture and interior design. Their work has been awarded in many national and international competitions, and has been exhibited at prestigious venues such as the Biennale di Venezia and the Bienal de Arquitectura Española. They have been finalists at the Norwegian national architecture prize Staten Byggeskikkpris 2012 and selected at the Bienal Española de Arquitectura y Urbanismo 2013. In 2018 they were nominated for The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award for their Baiona Public Library project.
www.muradoelvira.com

MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen
MURADO&ELVIRA – Teknobyen

Lecture by Leopoldo Villardi (Architectural Record)

 1024 576 Kent State University, Florence Program | College of Architecture & Environmental Design
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Leopoldo Villardi, architect and managing editor at Architectural Record magazine, will lecture on Tuesday 28 January 2025 at 5 pm at Kent State University Florence CAED. His lecture, titled On the Record, will be introduced by prof. Paola Giaconia.

Architectural Record – 2016-09 – 125th Anniversary
Architectural Record – 2016-09 – 125th Anniversary

Leopoldo Villardi’s lecture will explore the essentials of architectural publishing, offering insights into exclusivity, pitching editors, and the production process of a monthly magazine. The talk will delve into the history of the magazine — one of the most prominent and long-standing architecture magazines in the world — and offer valuable insights for students preparing to enter the profession, highlighting how publishing can enhance professional credibility and unlock new opportunities, particularly for young professionals and small practices.

Architectural Record covers

Leopoldo Villardi is a Brooklyn-based writer and managing editor at Architectural Record. He oversees the magazine’s residential coverage—including the annual issue of Record Houses—and the Design Vanguard award, an accolade intended to identify and celebrate young talent within the profession. Leo joined Record in 2022 after nearly a decade of work as a historian and researcher—he has contributed to several architecture books, co-authored Between Memory and Invention with former dean of the Yale School of Architecture Robert A. M. Stern, and is a New York State Council on the Arts grant recipient. Trained as an architect, Leo holds a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation and a bachelor of architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s School of Architecture. Outside of Architectural Record, his writings have appeared in Panteon, Faktur, Log, the New York Review of Architecture.
www.architecturalrecord.com

Lecture by Aaron Betsky

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

Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar.
Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar.
Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Photo by Szabolcs Molnar.
Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka.
Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka.
Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Flying Stone House. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka.

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.

Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). In the photo: Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Photo by Attila Róbert Csóka.
Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Illustration by Paradigma Ariadné
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). Image: Paradigma Ariadné, Rural Geometries. Illustration by Paradigma Ariadné.
Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Illustration and photo by Szabolcs Molnar
Fall 2024, Lecture by Szabolcs Molnár (Paradigma Ariadné). Image: Paradigma Ariadné, Blue Signature. Illustration and photo by Szabolcs Molnar.

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
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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
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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.

Studio RAP, Robots.
Studio RAP, Robot.

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.

Studio RAP, Ceramic House in Amsterdam. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, Ceramic House in Amsterdam. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, Ceramic House in Amsterdam. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, Ceramic House in Amsterdam. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, New Delft Blue. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, New Delft Blue. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.
Studio RAP, New Delft Blue. Photo © Riccardo De Vecchi.

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
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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.

SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Pol Villadoms.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Our Shelves Houses, Cooperative Housing in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Our Shelves Houses, Cooperative Housing in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Our Shelves Houses, Cooperative Housing in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
Studio & Home SUMA in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
Studio & Home SUMA in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, 50 Public Housing San Francisco Javier in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, 50 Public Housing San Francisco Javier in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.

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.

SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Pol Villadoms.
SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
Spring 2024, Lecture by Elena Orte (SUMA). In the photo: SUMA, Gabriel García Márquez Library in Barcelona. Photo © Jesús Granada.
Studio & Home SUMA in Madrid. Photo © Jesús Granada.
Studio & Home SUMA in Madrid. Axonometry.

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
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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.

PAX Architects with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects – Royal Polish Opera in Warsaw (ongoing)- Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects – Royal Polish Opera in Warsaw (ongoing)- Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects – Royal Polish Opera in Warsaw (ongoing)- Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects – Royal Polish Opera in Warsaw (ongoing)- Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects – Royal Polish Opera in Warsaw (ongoing)- Rendering by KVANT-1

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.

PAX Architects – Museum Skanderborg (ongoing) – Model
PAX Architects – Museum Skanderborg (ongoing) – Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects – Museum Skanderborg (ongoing) – Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects – Museum Skanderborg (ongoing) – Rendering by KVANT-1
PAX Architects – Museum Skanderborg (ongoing) – Rendering by KVANT-1

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
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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.

Point Supreme, Mediterranean Institute of Cities and Territories, Marseille
Point Supreme, Mediterranean Institute of Cities and Territories, Marseille
Point Supreme, Mediterranean Institute of Cities and Territories, Marseille, photo by Maxime Delvaux
Point Supreme, Mediterranean Institute of Cities and Territories, Marseille, photo by Maxime Delvaux
Point Supreme, Mediterranean Institute of Cities and Territories, Marseille, photo by Maxime Delvaux

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. 

Point Supreme – Petralona House – PH 01 – photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Ignatiou Apartment – Veranda, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Ignatiou Apartment – Veranda, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Ignatiou Apartment – Veranda, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Ignatiou Apartment – Veranda, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Ignatiou Apartment – Veranda, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Artemida House, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Artemida House, photo by Filip Dujardin

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

 

Point Supreme, Petralona House, photo by James Mollison
Point Supreme, Petralona House, photo by James Mollison
Point Supreme, Petralona House, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Petralona House, photo by Filip Dujardin
Point Supreme, Petralona House, photo by Filip Dujardin