Biographies

Venkatkrishnan Ashok is a trained Architect with an experience spanning over 15 years. He is passionate about the connections between abstract art and Architecture and all that falls in between.

Venkat and Saurabh are currently teaching at Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture and are conducting a studio in Urban Design; where the said complexities are systematically deciphered and represented using drawing as a polemic / tool for speculation.

Phenomenal Words (Berlin/Paris)

Phoebe is a freelance communications and sustainability consultant in Berlin, with a focus on circular economy. Prior to this, she worked for the French Embassy in London, where she was Deputy cultural attaché for two years, followed by 8 years at an energy group in London and Paris working on corporate responsibility and communications. An active member of global network Circulab since 2015, her activity today includes workshops using creative tools and gamification to explain the circular economy model as a way to transform organisations, support a regenerative economy and avoid waste.
Recent clients include Stadtfarm in Berlin, the world's first known commercial 'circular' fish and vegetable farm, WWF, Erasmus+, for which she trains teachers on how to bring multi-­disciplinarity to students. Phoebe is also passionate about dustbins from a culture and design perspective: her photo project Les Plu'Belles, dustbins from around the world, has been shown in Paris and Berlin.

www.phenomenalwords.com

Anđelka Bnin-Bninski, PhD, is an architect and interdisciplinary researcher. She has specialized in theory of arts and media (University of Arts in Belgrade, 2009) and philosophy of architecture (École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris-La Villette, 2014). She teaches studio design and methodology courses at the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Architecture. Her recently defended PhD thesis “The role of the architectural drawing in the dynamics of living space partition” is in the fields of philosophy and theory of architectural drawing and it is based on drawing practice in architectural analysis. Her current investigations are focused on strategies and tactics of architectural drawing research.

Phoebe Brady is an architect whose work spans teaching, design, exhibition and mapping. As a Design Fellow at the School of Architecture, University College Dublin, she is a studio tutor and discusses landscape, design communication and the role of public engagement in architectural practice through workshops and presentations.

She practices in Dublin with GKMP Architects. They have exhibited at the Chicago Architecture Biennial 2015 and the Venice Architecture Biennale 2018 and were also nominated for the EU Mies Prize 2018.

Phoebe has also worked with the Irish Architecture Foundation as coordinator of Open House Dublin. She has contributed to publications such as Architectural Ireland and Building Material, and to the AIARG 7 research conference, presenting “Mapping Urban Living Space” with Sarah Doheny - an illustrated essay, that examines the production, disruption and perception of public space.

Comte/Meuwly
www.comtemeuwly.com

Founded in 2017 by Adrien Comte and Adrien Meuwly. The projects of Comte/Meuwly seek to offer maximum freedom of use, by seeking simple and effective architectural strategies.
They are characterized by their specific relationship with the context in the broadest sense of the term, systematically integrating territorial, societal, economic and ecological concepts into their architecture.

Adrien Comte and Adrien Meuwly are involved in numerous research and teaching projects through their teaching positions in various universities in Switzerland. They work in collaboration with artists, architects, engineers and researchers to enrich their skills and broaden their field of action.

Luigi Coppola (Belgium/Italy) is an artist, activist and promoter of participative projects and politically-motivated actions. His artistic practice is connected with the process of social reappropriation of the commons that starts with an analysis of specific social, political, and cultural contexts. He trained both as a scientist as well as in the field of art.
Luigi is involved with Casa delle Agriculture, a project in south Italy, which seeks to revive abandoned land, repopulate the countryside, generate a sustainable economy and strengthen community cohesion.
Luigi was joint Artistic Director with Michelangelo Pistoletto of the Urban Art Biennale in Bordeaux and part of the research group Art in Society at the Fontys Academy of Tilburg, NL. In 2017/2018 he was a fellow at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht, NL.

Els Dietvorst (°1964) is a socially engaged artist, who uses her visual work as a means of creating social involvement. She graduates from the Sint Lucas School of Arts in Antwerp and holds a Master of Fine Art from the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels. Dietvorst lives and works in Ireland since 2010.
Even in her socially focussed work, Dietvorst finds ways of expressing herself in a highly personal manner, making use of an incredibly wide range of media; along with sculptures and installations, drawing, writing and recently through the creation of visual installations. Her work is focussed on the myriad forms of social communication and interpersonal relationships and conflicts, which she expresses in striking social-artistic projects, such as The Return of the Swallows in the Brussels Midineighbourhood. The position of the outsider is something Dietvorst specifically focuses on, directing her gaze – sometimes over the span of several years – towards those persons and events that would otherwise go unnoticed. At any given moment she can be found collecting these types of snippets and fragments, assembling them in her pieces. This isn't necessarily to point out injustice, rather her purpose is to personally develop an understanding, to keep track of the bigger picture, and contextualise different events. Her summaries of reality are a visual archive, serving as both mirror and a chamber for reflection.

Her sculptures too, − crafted from perishable materials such as wood and loam − direct the gaze towards social circumstances such as war, famine and the refugee issue. This is how, for example, the “Skulls” series was created. The skulls allude to the violence of war, but also point towards the existential experience of dying, a process shared and suffered by all.

In september 2015 she was selected for the Moscow Biennal of Contemporary Art along with Luc Tuymans(B), Fabrice Hyber(F), Liam Gillick(USA), Gabriel Lester(NL), Li Mu(CN).

In 2017 she was chosen by an international jury to win the 2-yearly Evens Arts Prize 2017.

In 2018 she won the Prize for Anthropology and Sustainable Development at the prestigious International Jean Rouch festival in Paris with her documentary film 'I watched the white dogs of the dawn'.

Oliver Froome-Lewis engages the everyday in Endurance Walking, Mapping and Map-Making in London, he has created 'propositional' maps and events for Olympic Legacy in London's East End, The London Design Museum and The London Festival of Architecture. His research addresses mapping tactics drawing upon experimental fiction and current practices in Fine Art. 

https://oliverfroome-lewis.com

Studio Roland Fuhrmann (Berlin)

Roland is a visual artist and researcher, based in Berlin. He studied Fine Arts at Burg Giebichenstein Art School in Halle and at École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-­Arts in Paris. Since 2018 he holds a PhD in architecture from the Technical University in Dresden for which he received the Kurt Beyer Award. His multidisciplinary artwork includes installation, sculpture, video and photography, exposed in many international exhibitions and museums. He has realised over 25 permanent public art works after winning competitions: in universities, public buildings and spaces in Germany and abroad. He has held lectures and workshops at the University of Antwerp, EPFL Lausanne, Muthesius Art School in Kiel, Burg Giebichenstein Art School in Halle, BTU Cottbus, TU Dresden and at the 5ICCH in Chicago. Most recently, he has exposed Palombières in France and Berlin, showing his research on atypical tree houses built by pigeon hunters in the south of France

http://rolandfuhrmann.de

Ola Mirecka and Iga Górniak grew up in Poland and both studied Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. After completing their studies, Ola moved to London, where in 2012 she graduated from the Royal College of Art and in 2014 she moved to Denmark to work as a designer with LEGO Group. Iga joined LEGO Group as an intern in Denmark after completing her studies in Warsaw and later enrolled at Kolding Design School to study Design for Play graduating in 2019. Despite their parallel design journeys, they met for the first time in Denmark.

As children, we explore the world through imagining, creating and experimenting. Ola and Iga believe that as adults, there’s no need to stop this boundaryless approach to creative thinking. Working together under a name Iglo Project they use play elements to create experiences, workshops and exhibitions that provoke thoughts and engage users in various interactions. Alongside this collaboration, both designers run their own independent companies sharing the studio space.

Julien Ineichen is an architect-urbanist graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, with a PhD in architecture from ENSA-Marseille and UFRN-BR. He is an independent practitioner interested in the topic of collaborative conception of the urban environment. 

Julien Ineichen is co-founder of En Commun, an association of practitioners who aim to provoke the citizen engagement in the fabric of the ci.

Active for more than 10 years in the re-characterization of the river Capibaribe’s shores in Recife (BR), Ineichen is involved in the conception of participatory project involving citizens in urban prototyping process. He is also active in the implementation of transdisciplinary projects involving public administrations, civil society initiatives, economic actors and universities.

Diego Inglez de Souza (São Paulo, 1978) is an Architect and urban planner by the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of University of São Paulo (2003), PhD History and Architecture (FAU-USP/Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, 2014). Assistant curator of the X International Architecture Bienal of São Paulo (2013), teacher of Catholic University of Pernambuco (2014-18), fellow researcher at School of Architecture of University of Minho (2019-22). Author of Reconstruindo Cajueiro Seco (FAPESP/ Annablume, 2010) and several articles and papers on Brazilian and European journals, magazines and exhibition catalogues.

JQTS is an architecture studio working between Lisbon and Hamburg. The office’s work consists in a serial research into the open field of architecture combined with a process of learning from the empirical knowledge.

João Quintela is graduated in Architecture from Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa and Politécnico di Milano. Currently develops his PhD at Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid. Between 2012 and 2017 was teaching assistant at UD Campo Baeza at ETSAM and currently is teaching at UAL. 

Tim Simon is graduated in Architecture by Universität der Künste Berlin and Universidade Autonóma de Lisboa. Currently develops his PhD at HafenCity Universität Hamburg. Between 2015 and 2017 was teaching assistant at the Technische Universität München and currently is teaching at the HCU.

Partner at O Norte – Oficina de Criação, Lula graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from the Federal University of Pernambuco (1997), with a Master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin, USA (2007). He has worked and is currently associated with the CMPBS (Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems) in Austin/Texas, one of the oldest American NGO’s dedicated to sustainable practices in design. In 2010, he worked on the team of Michael Reynolds, the American architect who created Earthship, an integrated off-the-grid building system. Since 2014, he has been a professor at the Architecture Department of UNICAP (Universidade Católica de Pernambuco). In 2014, he co-founded AtelierVivo, a collective focused on design-build interventions. Lula is also a musician and a painter.

Laura Meulemans is appointed as a mandate assistant at the University of Antwerp, Faculty of Design Sciences, Architecture, Interior Architecture and Urbanism. As an architect-researcher she developed a strong interest in the city as a condition and architecture as part of contemporary socio-spatial challenges. This interest in she continues to develop in her doctoral research on the social-spatial employability of commoning practices in suburban densification strategies.

Within the bachelor program of Architecture she teaches ‘Initiation Design’ in the first bachelor. Here she points out to students to not only gain insight into the design of ‘spaces’, but also learn to think about what these spaces bring about and ‘leave behind’ (built VS unbuilt).

In addition, she has experience in the architectural practice (Guerrilla Office Architects, cuypers & Q Architecten), where as a project architect she was responsible of the internal and external communication, the organization, design and project follow-up of various (mid to large-scale) projects.

As a freelancer she is responsible of the organization of the lecture series ‘Auditorium 2019-2020: ‘There’s no place like home ’ of Stad & Architectuur, Leuven.

Comte/Meuwly
www.comtemeuwly.com

Founded in 2017 by Adrien Comte and Adrien Meuwly. The projects of Comte/Meuwly seek to offer maximum freedom of use, by seeking simple and effective architectural strategies.
They are characterized by their specific relationship with the context in the broadest sense of the term, systematically integrating territorial, societal, economic and ecological concepts into their architecture.

Adrien Comte and Adrien Meuwly are involved in numerous research and teaching projects through their teaching positions in various universities in Switzerland. They work in collaboration with artists, architects, engineers and researchers to enrich their skills and broaden their field of action.

Saurabh Mhatre is a trained Architect with a Masters Degree in Urban Design from the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He is passionate about the simple complexities of the urban form and the resulting drawing cultures.

Saurabh and Venkat are currently teaching at Rachana Sansad’s Academy of Architecture and are conducting a studio in Urban Design; where the said complexities are systematically deciphered and represented using drawing as a polemic / tool for speculation.

Ola Mirecka and Iga Górniak grew up in Poland and both studied Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. After completing their studies, Ola moved to London, where in 2012 she graduated from the Royal College of Art and in 2014 she moved to Denmark to work as a designer with LEGO Group. Iga joined LEGO Group as an intern in Denmark after completing her studies in Warsaw and later enrolled at Kolding Design School to study Design for Play graduating in 2019. Despite their parallel design journeys, they met for the first time in Denmark.

As children, we explore the world through imagining, creating and experimenting. Ola and Iga believe that as adults, there’s no need to stop this boundaryless approach to creative thinking. Working together under a name Iglo Project they use play elements to create experiences, workshops and exhibitions that provoke thoughts and engage users in various interactions. Alongside this collaboration, both designers run their own independent companies sharing the studio space.

Penelope Plaza is an Urban Artivist, Architect and Researcher. She has run a series of small-scale playful urban interventions in Caracas, Venezuela, as member of the collective Ser Urbano and co-founder of Collectivox. Penelope's research intersects petrocultures, lived experience of public space and creative practice. 

https://penelopeplaza.carbonmade.com

MONOatelier (Milan/Porto)

Graduated in Architecture from the Milan Polytechnic in 2006, Alberto also attended the Faculty of Architecture of the QUT (Brisbane, AUS). He has collaborated with YASUI Architects and Engineers (Tokyo, JP) and with Claudio Silvestrin Architects (London, UK). He is co-founder of MONOatelier, based in Milan and Porto since 2009. From 2011 until 2018 he collaborated at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio (CH), with Valentin Bearth, Eduardo Souto de Moura and, since 2013, with Francis Kéré, leading the Building Reality construction workshop in various sub-Saharan African countries. From 2017 he is research associate at the chair of Architectural Design and Participation, at TUM Munich (DE). He is currently guest lecturer at the Advanced Design Studio: New Tools at YALE (New Haven, USA).

Ruohong Wu and José Quintanar are practising as artist, architect and publisher. They are educated as architects - Ruohong is from the Architectural Association London and Jose Quintanar from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, where he is currently a PhD researcher. Together they founded the independent art publishing house Ruja Press and design research platform Ruja Office. Their work has been exhibited internationally in London, Paris, New York, Milan, Madrid, Tokyo and Antwerp, widely published in the New York Times, El Croquis, Dezeen, Vice, El Pais, etc. They have been teaching and lecturing at Architectural Association School London, China Academy of Art, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Politecnica de Madrid, IED lstituto Europeo di Design Madrid, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, etc.

MONOatelier (Milan/Porto)

Graduated in Architecture from the ESAP – Escola Superior Artistica do Porto in 2006, Mariana also attended the Milan Polytechnic (IT). She has collaborated with Menos é Mais, Aarquitectos (Porto, PT), Onsitestudio Architects and Peia Assosciati (Milan, IT). She is co-founder with Alberto Pottenghi of MONOatelier, based in Milan and Porto since 2009.

From 2011 until 2015 she collaborated at the Milan Polytechnic with Federico Bucci, Vittorio Logheu and Marco Borsotti.

From 2012 she is collaborator at the Milan Polytechnic at the chair Architectural Design In Historical Context with Eduardo Souto de Moura and João Luís Carrilho da Graça. From 2014 she is collaborator at the Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio (CH), with Walter Angonese (bachelor), Cristina Guedes (master) and Francis Kéré (diploma). She is currently professor at the Universitò degli Studi di Ferrara (IT) for the degree course for Product Design.

Alexandra Sonnemans (Balgrade, 1986) is an architect and urban designer based in Rotterdam. She graduated in 2011 as MSc at the TU Delft Faculty of Architecture. She has gained experience at VMX Architects, as project architect at ZUS office in Rotterdam , Blauwdruk Stedenbouw in Antwerp and the International Architecture Biennale (IABR). 

rotative studio is the collaboration between Caterina Viguera and Alexandra Sonnemans founded in 2017. With rotative studio they research and expand the notion and experience of architecture and the built environment, through the use of a variety of formats - e.g. drawings, exhibitions, dialogues, spatial installations. At the same time, they continuously reconnect abstract ideas and experimental forms to concrete situations, locations, objects, buildings, inhabitants, and city-dwellers. They work on commission and on self-initiated projects, ranging from refurbishments, pavilions and spatial installations to experimental research, exhibitions and publications.

Traumnovelle is a militant faction founded by three Belgian architects: Léone Drapeaud, Manuel León Fanjul and Johnny Leya. Traumnovelle uses architecture and fiction as analytical, critical and subversive tools to emphasize contemporary issues and dissect their resolutions. Traumnovelle alternates between cynicism and enthusiasm all the while advocating for critical thinking in architecture. Traumnovelle champions a multi-disciplinary approach with architecture at the crossroads. Traumnovelle distances itself from current forms of naive architecture and refuses to glorify the mundane. Traumnovelle sides with those who have not sacrificed ambition and criticism.

Traumnovelle were the commissioned curators for the Belgian contribution to the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2018. They have been lecturing in Brussels, Paris, Marseille, Rotterdam, Kiev, Ljubjana. They are working internationally on different scales ranging from reconversions of industrial buildings to paper architecture. Their work has been published in Site Magazine, l’Architecture d’aujourd’hui, A+, Architectural Digest and Cosa Mentale amongst others.

Architect Urbanist, graduated at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil (1995) and post-graduated with Master's degree in Urban Development at the same University (2002).

Múcio Jucá holds a career as a teacher at the Department of Architecture and Urbanism of UNICAP - Catholic University of Pernambuco, both at Architectural Design Studios and Urban Development, and combines his teaching activities with architectural design and urbanism practices as a founding partner of Z Arquitetura e Consultoria (since 1996), working in the development of Architecture Projects and urban design and interventions.

More recently, has joined forces with partners to create the Social Architecture Laboratory, to promote technical assistance in low-income communities.

Ellen Verbiest is an architect, urban designer and researcher, specialized in translating complex spatial concepts into imaginative cartography. Ellen gained a broad work experience as a socio-spatial researcher at endeavor, as an urban designer working with CLUSTER landscape and urban design and as an architect at poot architectuur.

Since 2016, Ellen Verbiest conducts research projects for, among others, Departement Omgeving (Resilience of the Kleine Nete valley), for Architecture Workroom Brussels (IABR), more recently the graphic translation of research by design for Stadsatelier Oostende and a cartographic research of the Antwerp city region for LABO RUIMTE.

In addition to her work, Ellen does proactive research into the role of citizen initiatives in the city. She was a coinitiator of We Kopen Samen den Oudaan, joining forces with a variety of engaged professionals to set up a concept to collaboratively buy and develop the iconic Oudaan tower. Today, Ellen is part of Onder Stroom collective, investigating the role of commons in the city through its own practice of vacancy management.

Caterina Viguera (Barcelona, 1986) is an architect and urban designer based in Zürich. She graduated in 2011 as MSc at the ETSAB Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona and obtained a MAS Urban Design at the ETH Zürich in 2015. She has gained experience at Ammann Albers Stadtwerke Zürich, Storefront for Art and Architecture New York, Departament d‘Historia d‘Arquitectura ETSAB, Acconci Studio New York, a.o.

rotative studio is the collaboration between Caterina Viguera and Alexandra Sonnemans founded in 2017. With rotative studio they research and expand the notion and experience of architecture and the built environment, through the use of a variety of formats - e.g. drawings, exhibitions, dialogues, spatial installations. At the same time, they continuously reconnect abstract ideas and experimental forms to concrete situations, locations, objects, buildings, inhabitants, and city-dwellers. They work on commission and on self-initiated projects, ranging from refurbishments, pavilions and spatial installations to experimental research, exhibitions and publications.

Ruohong Wu and Jose Quintanar are practising as artist, architect and publisher. They are educated as architects - Ruohong is from the Architectural Association London and Jose Quintanar from Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, where he is currently a PhD researcher. Together they founded the independent art publishing house Ruja Press and design research platform Ruja Office. Their work has been exhibited internationally in London, Paris, New York, Milan, Madrid, Tokyo and Antwerp, widely published in the New York Times, El Croquis, Dezeen, Vice, El Pais, etc. They have been teaching and lecturing at Architectural Association School London, China Academy of Art, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Politecnica de Madrid, IED lstituto Europeo di Design Madrid, Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, etc.