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Comment by DesignMind on July 12, 2011 at 16:17

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Speaking at Joburg and Cape Town is the Peruvian architect Javier Artadi of Artadi Arquitectos, internationally renowned for his modern architecture echoing the landscape characteristic of the desert coast of Peru. His presentation at COA entitled ‘The Cube in the Dessert’ looks at modern architecture inside this very singular natural context. A professor for Architectural Design Studio in the Faculty of Architecture of the Peruvian University for Applied Sciences – UPC, Artadi travels the world to present and display his work at architecture events. 

 

Bringing his international perspective to the Joburg seminar is Spanish architect  Fermin Vazquez of b720 Architects, based in Barcelona. Combining practice with teaching, he teaches at the European University of Madrid (UIM) and gives  lectures at universities and institutions all over the world. His presentation topic  is ‘Landscape in Architecture’.  “To plan buildings on a landscape is to design the landscape. In fact, the landscape is always a human work, to some extent, since nothing exists beyond man’s gaze. The landscape is created by observing it. Our intervention forms it and transforms it.”

 

Speaking at COA Cape Town is the Brazilian architect Mariana Simas of Studio mk27 in São Paulo. She is a great admirer of Brazilian modernism with its pure forms and clean details. Her presentation will focus on São Paulo and the studio’s recent projects, renowned for its formal simplicity, details and finishing.  Studio mk27 has won several international awards, such as the recent Wallpaper Design Awards, the D&AD ‘Yellow Pencil’ Award two years running, the Dedalo Minosse in 2008 and the Barbara Cappochin of the Padova International Biennial in 2007. 

 

South African luminaries speaking at Decorex Joburg include Pierre Swanepoel of studioMAS whose presentation ‘An architecture less bad and more good’ is bound to create as much interest as the studio’s iconic buildings known to reconnect with the street. Morne Pienaar of Holm Jordaan will look at the tradition of making architecture, stating that architecture has become a fast food art form.     His talk deals with different modes of design in architecture, primarily with the handmade. 

 

Karlien Thomashoff  of Thomashoff + Partner Architects  will discuss recent projects, rounding of her presentation on a lighter note with WitOpWit, a company specializing in creative product and event design. For her the satisfaction of being an architect lies  in the sense of freedom and accomplishment it brings. “Also, you also get to use coloured pencils and tracing paper almost whenever you want.” 

 

Joburg will also see celebrated young architect Ruann van der Westhuizen, winner of the prestigious Hunter Douglas Award at Archiprix International 2011, take to the stage.  He will be joined by the other new kid on the block Franco Enrico of Tswane University of Technology who will be presenting his project ‘Slice of Earth’.

Talking in Cape Town is Mokena Makeka of Makeka Design Lab, a laboratory that designs innovative design solutions at the urban, architectural, cultural and installation scale. He believes that good architecture is a basic human right and that design possesses the power to change not only the spaces that people inhabit but that people who inhabit them.  He will be joined by Stefan Antoni of Stefan Antoni Olmesdahl Truen Architects, widely regarded for his role in setting a new standard of design and professionalism in his field. 

The new guard of up-and coming graduates and students presenting their views on architecture and the built environment are Loyiso Qaqane, Andrew Moerdyk, Temba Jauch and Ruvimbo Moyo – all from the University of Cape Town.

• Conversations on Architecture is aimed at design and building professionals, including architects, lighting specialists, interior designers, interior architects, electrical engineers, consulting engineers, urban planners and other trade professionals with a serious interest in the field of design and architecture.
• The South African Institute of Architects is in the process of assessing and validating the conference for between 0.5 and 1 CPD credit.

For more information on speaker line-up or online-bookings visit www.decorex.co.za

 

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