"This year’s November Talks will examine materials as the fundamental essence of building structures. Together, we will explore their aesthetic, cultural, and political significance. Furthermore, the materiality of what we build with plays a critical role in discussions about sustainability in the construction industry. The goal of this year’s series is to offer a wide range of perspectives on materials and their use in architecture," explains Miroslav Pazdera, the curator of the event.
The featured architects and collectives in this year’s November Talks share a common interest in materiality and are rethinking their approaches to it. The series opens with Gilles Delalex from the Paris-based studio Muoto, which experiments with architecture and urbanism, drawing inspiration from public spaces and their material possibilities. Material Cultures focuses on research into regenerative materials and their ecological and political implications. Maarten Gielen, founder of the Belgian collective Rotor and Rotor DC, will discuss deconstruction and the reuse of building materials to minimize waste and rethink standard construction practices. Guido Brandi, an expert in circular construction, will address the theory and practice of reusing building materials.
Gilles Delalex, founder of the Paris-based studio Muoto, works across architecture, urbanism, design, teaching, and research. Since its inception, his office has realized a wide range of projects, including master plans, public buildings, housing, and installations. Gilles is a graduate of the University of Art, Design and Architecture in Helsinki and has studied in Grenoble, Montreal, Brussels, and Manchester. He is also a professor at the Paris-Malaquais School of Architecture, where he heads the Theory, History, Project (THP) department and co-directs the LIAT research lab, which focuses on infrastructure. In his lecture, he will present Holy Highway, a collection of texts, projects, and images centered on the highway as the most radical form of public space.
The second speaker, Summer Islam, is an architect and director of Material Cultures, a firm at the intersection of design and materials research. Her work delves into the political ecology of building materials and the environmental impacts of using regenerative materials. She has lectured at ETH Zurich and previously taught architecture at Central St Martins, UAL, London Metropolitan University, and the Bartlett School of Architecture at UCL. Currently a PhD candidate at the RIOT Lab at EPFL in Lausanne, she is researching decarbonized built environments that prioritize ecosystems over industrial interests.
Maarten Gielen, a designer and researcher, has long been engaged in transforming the way materials are used in architecture and construction. He co-founded Rotor in 2006 and its sister office Rotor DC (Deconstruction) in 2014. For his contributions as an author, designer, and project manager, Maarten was awarded the Maaskant Prize for Young Architects, one of the most prestigious architecture awards in the Benelux. He frequently lectures at architecture and design schools in Europe, Asia, and the USA.
Guido Brandi, co-founder of the Zurich-based studio NUAR, is an architect specializing in solving complex structural, logistical, and economic challenges related to the reuse of building materials. Since 2018, he has been a research assistant at the Institute of Constructive Design at ZHAW. His talk will focus on circular construction, with an in-depth analysis of the K118 building in Winterthur, Switzerland, as a case study.
November Talks will take place every Monday in November at 6:30 pm in Room 155 Gočár at the Faculty of Architecture, CTU, Thákurova 9, Prague 6. The schedule is as follows: 4 November (Gilles Delalex), 11 November (Material Cultures), 18 November (Maarten Gielen), and 25 November (Guido Brandi). All lectures will be in English, are free of charge, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible. The November Talks series, supported by the Sto Foundation since 2006, is held annually at six selected architecture schools across Europe.
