L' Horizon Positif / Call for Design Studio Critics
These problematic days require a radical rethinking of our daily activities. For the first time in history, the teaching of architecture moves from the physical areas of schools to remotely interconnected personal spaces. These days will pass, but experiences will remain. It is the task of architecture teachers, of all teachers, to rethink our methods of communicating knowledge.
Paul Virilio, in the “Negative Horizon: An Essay in Dromoscopy,” writes about “what he believes to be the consequences of the constant acceleration for human sensory perception and, ultimately, global democracy.” Eventually, the accelerated world will lead to the disappearance of our notion of the body as we know it. For one reason or another, this prediction seems to become more realistic every day.
Given the impossibility of conducting face to face teaching activities, midterm reviews, at least for this semester, must be done remotely. In a pro-active approach, we should turn this limitation into an opportunity we never had before. Indeed, I can still invite “external” critics from both academic and professional fields to take part in the reviews. Through remote teaching, we can now remove the constraint of geographical proximity. Therefore, I can invite architects and teachers residing abroad to give valuable feedback to my students without being physically present.
I posted a Call for Design Studio Critics on my Facebook blog “SPACE[LESS]CITY,” and, in a few hours, the horizon changed.
L' horizon est positif.
I thank my colleagues for their enthusiastic support and interest in this initiative. Below is the list of internationally acclaimed architects and academics from different generations who accepted my invitation.
Critics:
Jean-Pierre El Asmar holds a Ph.D. in Sustainable Built Environment from the De Montfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom (2008). He is a Full Professor at Notre Dame University, Louaize, Lebanon where he has been teaching full time in the Faculty of Architecture Art and Design since 1994.
Taymoore Balbaa is a co-founder of AXIA Design and an Associate Professor at the Ryerson School of Interior Design (RSID) in Toronto. He is the recipient of 2 major Canadian awards, the Young Architect Award, and the Prix de Rome.
Tiago Saraiva Invited Professor of Architecture at the Universidade de Lisboa and managing partner of ateliermob - arquitectura, design e urbanismo lda. He is the director of the European association of "city makers" re: Kreators, Placemaking Europe Leader and member of the editorial board of Le Monde Diplomatique - Portuguese edition.
Gianluca Peluffo holds a Ph.D. in Architectural Design from the University of Genova (2001). He is an Associate Professor at Universita’ Enna Kore, Italy and the founder of the internationally recognized and awards winning firm Gianluca Peluffo & Partners Architecture.
Mose’ Ricci is a Full Professor of Urbanism and Chair of Architectural Design Studio at the University of Trento, Emeritus of the Italian Republic for Art and Culture (since2003) and a Fulbright Scholar, Harvard University(1996).
Steven Veligrinis is Director of Operations for the Design, Planning and Economics Group and Head of Masterplanning at AECOM Middle East and Africa. His recent work has included urban design projects such as the Dubai Expo, Dubai Design District Masterplan, and the Qatar Science and Technology Park Masterplan.
Assistant Critics:
Raha Milani received her B.Arch from the American University of Sharjah. She co-founded archiSENSE studio with Maryam Karji in 2018 in Dubai. Prior to her practice, Raha worked at Naga Architects.
Davide Bertugno graduated in architecture from the Polytechnic of Bari (2014). In 2018 he founded the architectural collective “Iosa” to participate in international competitions and temporary exhibitions.