TBA
Lectures by Pedro Pitarch and Raf Ilsbroekx
25th March, 2025 - 19:00
Stadscampus, s.R.002
Rodestraat 14 - Antwerpen
Towards a Non-Typological Architecture
Towards a Non-Typological Architecture explores six projects from Pedro Pitarch’s professional practice, showcasing a decade of research into the pressing need to rethink and update the conventional concept of 'architectural typology.' This reexamination stems from the diminishing correlation between form and function in architectural projects. The lecture seeks to examine the potential of a 'non-typological architecture'—a model less reliant on formal composition and enriched by contemporary, transdisciplinary tools.
Roadscapes
“To think is to speculate with images” (Aristotle, 350 BC; Giordano Bruno, 16th century; Luigi Ghirri, 1979). In his doctoral dissertation, Raf Ilsbroekx explored the features and contexts of contemporary urban landscapes that are valuable for urban design practice and theory. His focus was on car infrastructures, which he interpret as embedded urban landscapes. He refers to these as ‘roadscapes’—the scenographic 21st-century counterpart to the 18th-century vedute (city views) made famous by landscape painters like Canaletto.
To re-read, re-question, and reimagine the contemporary urban landscape, Raf developed the ‘photographic dialectic’ method, which involves three steps: photographing, juxtaposing, and writing. In early 2025, a concise and richly illustrated visual essay based on this research will be published as a pocket edition in the Zuidzee series by Public Space (in Dutch).
About the speakers
About Pedro Pitarch
Pedro Pitarch, is architect (ETSAM, UPM) and musician (COM Caceres). He is Associate Professor at the Architecture Faculty of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (ETSAM-UPM). He has been Teaching Fellow in Architectural Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture (University College of London). He has also taught and given lectures at different universities in USA, EU and Australia.
He has been Steedman Fellow (Washington University , St Louis, 2017), Extraordinary Honor End of Studies Prize at the ETSAM (UPM, 2014), Archiprix International (Hunter- Douglas Award 2015) and Superscape · Future Urban Living Award (Wien, 2016).
His work has been exhibited at the 16th an 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, 2020 Triennale of Milan, SBAU 2021, 4th Lisbon Architecture Triennale, Architectus Omnibus, 9th EME3 and 2016 Vienna Design Week.
His work has been awarded in several International Competitions such as First Prize Europan 16 at Aalst (Belgium, 2021), Second Prize for the Museum of Musical Instruments in Cáceres (Spain, 2023), Third Prize for Fuenlabrada Central Train Station Redevelopment Competition (Spain, 2023), Runner Up Prize Europan 16 at Graz (Austria, 2021), Runner Up Prize Europan 16 at Wernigerode (Germany, 2021), First Prize for the Restoration of Cartagena’s Central Cinema (2020), Second Prize for the Stadium of Villanueva Serena (2021), Fifth Prize in ‘Berlin Brandenburg 2070 - 100 Years of GrossBerlin’ (Germany, 2020), Second Prize in ‘Dom Competition’ (Russia, 2018), Second Prize for ‘New Cyprus Museum’ (Cyprus, 2017), First Prize for Clesa Building Restoration (Madrid, 2015). He has been shortlisted for the Debut Award of the IV Lisbon Triennale of Architecture.
In 2015 he founded ‘Pedro Pitarch Architectures & Urbanisms’, an architectural office based in Madrid.
He has designed the public architectures of ARCO Madrid contemporary art fair 42th Edition (IFEMA, 2023) and exhibition designs for Museo del Traje and CentroCentro (Madrid).
His projects and writings have been published in several magazines and platforms such as Domus, Arquitectura Viva, AD, ELLE, Pasajes, Plot, MONU, E-Flux, El País, Archdaily or Metalocus.
He wanders in a somewhat tangential position to architectural practice, focusing on the interrelations between contemporary culture production and the construction of societies.
About Raf Ilsbroekx
Raf Ilsbroekx is an urbanist and researcher with a scenographic approach to urban design, strongly related to landscape design and methodologically relying to a large extent on ‘research and study by photography’. He holds a PhD of Urbanism and Spatial Planning, a Master of Urbanism and Spatial Planning and a Master of Civil Engineering Technology. Since 2018, he is affiliated to the Faculty of Design Sciences at the University of Antwerp, currently as senior researcher at the Design Sciences Hub (DSH) and the Research Group for Urban Development.