Malawi

In its current form, architecture is still a product of the Industrial Age, as is the idea that underpins it, namely that every change is an improvement. No profession is so imbued with the soap powder advertising optimism of ‘now better than ever’. But buildings also belong to the category of products on which financial capitalism thrived. Just as the millions of unpaid Facebook users ensure that Mark Zuckerberg is on his way to becoming the richest man in the universe, so all the (in this case paid) parties who make buildings, starting with architects, ensure that those who own the buildings become wealthier from it. At least, that’s how things worked until the recession. Because construction alone will not make you seriously rich. - Hans Ibelings, SHIFTS Nanne de Ru of Powerhouse Company and Hans Ibelings explore the themes of the exhibition in a far-reaching discussion with leading UK based practioners, at the forefront of conversations around global change and new economies, including worldwide urban development perspectives from Christopher Choa (AECOM) and fresh research on alternative economies and their implications for architecture, from Alice Fung (00:/, Hub Westminster). The conversation will be chaired by Peter Buchanan, author of the Architecture Review's recent 12 part series of essays exploring the future of architecture, The Big Rethink. Are we now seeing the formal end of the Industrial Revolution, the tipping point from which the East takes the reins from the West? What have de-regulation and the changing role of credit done to the world’s built environment? Through exploration of these vital questions, the evening will also launch a new publication resulting from Ibelings and Powerhouse's research. Speaker Biographies Hans Ibelings (b. Rotterdam, 1963) is an architectural historian and critic. From 1989 to 2000 he was a curator at the Netherlands Architecture Institute; from 2004 to 2012 he was editor-in-chief of A10; in 2005 and 2006 he was a visiting professor at the EPFL (Lausanne). Ibelings is the author of several books including Supermodernism: Architecture in the age of globalization and European architecture since 1890. Since 2012 he is editor of The Architecture Observer, which employs a variety of old and new media in the pursuit of architectural criticism. Nanne de Ru (1976, the Netherlands) received the Master of Excellence in Architecture from the Berlage Institute, Postgraduate Laboratory of Architecture, Rotterdam (2002), a Bachelor of Architectural engineering from the Hogeschool van Amsterdam in (1998) and won the Vitae Bouwaward for best Dutch Architectural Engineering graduation project (1999). From 1998 to 1999 de Ru worked as a project leader at One Architecture in Amsterdam. During the years 2002-2004 de Ru worked at Rem Koolhaas' think tank AMO in Rotterdam as a lead researcher and designer on numerous large scale regional planning projects including Ruhrgebiet (a study for a new identity for the Ruhrvalley in Germany); Eurocore (a study into new forms of urbanity in Europe); Beijing Olympic conference center competition; Beijing preservation strategies; and The Image of Europe – a joint commission of the Dutch presidency and the European Commission. In 2005 he co-founded Powerhouse Company, an office for architecture, urbanism and research, with branches in Rotterdam and Copenhagen. Powerhouse Company employs 15 people and is working throughout Europe and Asia on design and research projects. Nanne de Ru teaches regularly at the Academy of Architecture in Rotterdam and has been guest professorships at various institutions including Aarhus University (DK), TU Delft (NL), Design Academy Eindhoven (NL) and AHO Oslo School of Architecture (NO). Nanne de Ru is member of the research board of the Berlage Institute. Christopher Choa is a Principal with AECOM, the international land development and infrastructure consultancy. He focuses on urban regeneration, sustainable strategies for new development, and enhancing regional competitiveness. A prize-winning architect and native New Yorker, he is based in London and leads the firm’s urban development studio. Christopher served as co-chair of New York New Visions - the design coalition for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Some of his ongoing or completed projects include the planning of Cairo Airport City, the regeneration of Sao Paolo’s Nova Luz district, the Saadiyat Island Masterplan in Abu Dhabi, the masterplan of Shanghai's North Bund, and the Zeitinburnu Seaport in Istanbul. A graduate of both Harvard and Yale, he has been a visiting critic at the Harvard School of Design, Columbia University, and UCL/Bartlett. His work, citations, and professional columns have been published in a wide range of journals, including World Architecture, Architectural Review, The Shanghai Daily, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times. Alice Fung trained as an architect and is co-founder of 00:/, a strategic

• published: 01 Jun 2012
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