agenda

The Department of Fine Arts invites you to an exhibition of works by students of design, architecture, and landscape architecture. The exhibition takes place in the atrium next to the plaster room from November 10 to November 24, 2026.

The PleinAir exhibition presents a representative selection of student works created between 2024 and 2026. It highlights the diversity of artistic output and approaches across individual fields of study (Architecture and Urbanism, Landscape Architecture, Design), presenting the free artistic perception of future architects and designers as they interpret the landscape. The exhibition creates a multifaceted picture of creative thinking, personal reflection on the surrounding world, and the search for new modes of artistic expression. At the same time, it demonstrates how vital a source of inspiration direct contact with the landscape or a specific environment can be, and how plein air experiences feed into the students' broader artistic and ideological direction.

The drawing practice (plein air) is a week-long creative stay in an outdoor environment during which students experiment with artistic creation in situ—whether in natural landscapes or urban spaces. The core focus is the sensory perception and experience of the outdoors, subsequently transformed into artwork through drawing, painting, or other experimental techniques (in the case of design). Students focus on capturing space and environment through the lens of their personal impressions and emotional responses to a given location. Using varied artistic methods (drawing, painting, photography, installation, etc.), they examine spatial effects, mutual spatial interactivity, and how space transforms under shifting light and color conditions.

The focus of the plein air course adapts to the specific specializations of each field. Architecture students concentrate primarily on perspective drawings of buildings set within their landscape context; their key task is finding the right balance between overall composition and individual detail, strictly attending to proportion and perspective rendering. Landscape architecture students turn their attention toward natural elements, vegetation, and the diversity of organic forms, interpreting landscape character through their own visual language while engaging with its color palette and atmosphere. Design students, alongside traditional artistic approaches, explore site-specific installations and environmental art, investigating contemporary human-nature relationships and conceptually framing their work with natural elements.

Architect and urban designer Charlotte Malterre-Barthes leads the RIOT lab at EPFL in Lausanne. Her work examines contemporary urbanization, material consumption, and the relationship between architecture and the climate and social crises. During her tenure at Harvard, she initiated the A Moratorium on New Construction project, which challenges established patterns of building development. Her lecture, Stop Building, Reform the School, will present the concept of a moratorium on new construction both as a political tool and as a catalyst for transforming architectural education.

The 4th international scientific conference People–City–Transport 2026 focuses on the relationships between people, cities, and transport. It connects behavioral, sociological, and technical approaches to the study of urban mobility.

The conference is aimed at PhD students, early-career researchers, and members of the professional public interested in urban mobility issues. It offers a platform for sharing insights and engaging in discussion with experienced scientists and experts.

More information: www.pctconference.com

On November 18, Laura Linsi and Roland Reemaa from the Estonian practice LLRRLLRR will present their work. Their practice is rooted in local contexts, site specificity, regional materials, and collaborations with artists and institutions. Linsi and Reemaa teach at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) and Central Saint Martins in London. In 2019, they received the Estonian Young Architect Award and represented Estonia at the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale. Their exhibition Loose Knots is currently on view at the VI PER Gallery in Prague. In their lecture, they will focus on bioregionalism, material culture, and insights from the Baltic landscape, an environment shaped both by natural forces and the fading traces of Soviet industry.

Closing this year’s series on November 25 is Carla Ferrando Costansa from the Swiss practice PARABASE. Their work explores alternative approaches to building reuse and broader circular strategies within the context of material and energy consumption. Ferrando and Garrido Arnaiz co-founded the practice in 2023 after working at offices such as Herzog & de Meuron and Foster & Partners. They currently teach at EPFL in Lausanne, and their work has been featured at the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale and the Lisbon Architecture Triennale.

You are cordially invited to the award ceremony and opening of the Dean's Award 2026 exhibition. Join us on Wednesday, December 2, 2026, at 10:00 AM at the Bethlehem Chapel.