On the occasion of the London Festival of Architecture we were thrilled to host a panel discussion together with the Delegation of Flanders (Embassy of Belgium) and the Flanders Architecture Institute about the very topical role of architecture and urbanism to address and solve today's environmental and social issues!
Presenting a panel of experts from Austria, Flanders and the UK the event looked at the opportunities, new concepts and the relationships between economy, ecology and work.
The director of the Architekturzentrum Vienna, Angelika Fitz and curator Elke Krasny gave an insight into their exhibition 'Critical Care', which demonstrated how architecture and urbanism can contribute to repairing the future and keeping the planet and its inhabitants alive.
They were joined by Sofie De Caigny (Director of the Flanders Architecture Institute), Hülya Ertas (Architect and Exhibitions & Publications Coordinator at the Flanders Architecture Institute), Kim Trogal (lecturer at the Canterbury School of Architecture, University of the Creative Arts) and Liza Fior from the London based collective muf architecture/art. The collective is one of 21 international practices featured in the exhibition.
The panel discussion was moderated by the award-winning environment journalist Fiona Harvey, Environment Correspondent for The Guardian.
Dr Angelika Fitz is Director of the Architekturzentrum Wien, the Austrian Architecture Museum in Vienna. The museum shows, discusses and researches the ways in which architecture and urban planning influence and shape the daily life of each one of us. Her current exhibitions and publications include Critical Care. Architecture for a Broken Planet (2019), together with Elke Krasny, as well as Assemble. How we build (2017) and Downtown Denise Scott Brown (2018).
Dr Elke Krasny is Professor at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. She focuses on questions of care at the present historical conjuncture with an interest in emancipatory and transformative practices in art, curating, architecture and urbanism. She curated and edited the exhibition and volume Critical Care. Architecture and Urbanism for a Broken Planet, together with Angelika Fitz.
Dr Kim Trogal is Reader in Social and Political Design at the Canterbury School of Architecture (UCA). Her doctoral research investigated ‘feminist ethics of care’ in contemporary architectural practice. She is co-editor and contributor to a number of books and special issues exploring the ethics and politics of contemporary spatial practice.
Liza Fior is a founding partner of muf architecture art , bringing on the ground shared research to the designing robust public realm projects for more than one thing at a time mainly in London. She is a Mayor's Design advisor, and is Professor of architecture and Spatial Practice at the University of the Arts London.
Dr Sofie De Caigny is Director of the Flanders Architecture Institute and Lecturer in Architecture Critique at the Faculty of Design Sciences of the University of Antwerp. She is commissioner of the entry for the Belgian Pavilion at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennial in 2021.
Hulya Ertas is coordinator of exhibitions and publications at the Flanders Architecture Institute. She is doing a PhD on commons and architecture criticism at the Faculty of Architecture of KU Leuven.
Fiona Harvey is an award-winning Guardian's environment correspondent. She worked for the Financial Times for more than a decade and has written extensively on every major environmental issue, from air pollution and biodiversity to ocean plastic and climate change.
