Towards the well-tempered environment
Renzo Piano: The Art of Making Buildings
Friday 14 December 2018 6.30 - 8pm
The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, Burlington Gardens, Royal Academy of Arts, Piccadilly
£15, £9
Renzo Piano
A debate exploring how technological developments have transformed architecture and the ways in which practice can foster its relationship with technology today.
In the 1960s and 70s, Renzo Piano was experimenting with prefabricated buildings, integrated structures and systems, flexible space, and innovative materials. These are all interests that flourished in the cultural and entrepreneurial context of London and internationally at that time.
It was also a time when a belief in continuous growth and a confidence in new materials and tools supported a general optimism around technology’s potential. Architecture’s relationship with engineering and other disciplines came under increasing scrutiny and a more engaged and collaborative relationship was championed by many. Today, architecture is again facing a comparable period of technological development.
In this panel discussion, we bring together architects and engineers to explore how the dialogue between technology and architecture has evolved over the last decades and its potential for the future.
Speakers:
Peter Clegg – architect; Senior Partner, Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios
Arthur Mamou-Mani – architect, Director of Mamou-Mani Ltd, specialising in pop-up, digital fabrication led architecture
Jane Wernick – structural engineer; Consultant at engineers HRW
Bob Sheil (chair) – Professor of Architecture and Design through Production; Head of Department at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL