The AZA 2012 Biennial Festival in Cape Town, South Africa will feature six international architects to join South African architects in a conversation about architectural practice and its role in the context of the city. The participating speakers include David Adjaye, founder of Adjaye Associates, Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima of Atelier Bow-Wow, Tatiana Bilbao, Teddy Cruz of Estudio Teddy Cruz, Rahul Mehrotra, founder of RMA Architects and Kibwe Tavares co-founder of Factory Fifteen, in addition to others. This is the second Architecture ZA event, a premier urban culture festival that brings together cutting-edge thinkers and multi-disciplinary practitioners from around the world. It will be held on September 13-16, 2012 and will include various events, talks, film screenings, conferences and tours.
Read on for more about the speakers invited to AZA 2012.
The theme of this year’s event is ‘Re-scripting Architecture’. It comes as a response to the changing trends of the way people live and the considerations we must make to how our technology affects the environment. As more people migrate to cities, architecture must adjust to what it means to have people living in close proximity and how design encourages and supports healthy choices for the people and the environment. Festival Convener Daniel van der Merwe says, “This festival, with its collaboration of architectural and cultural minds, is not about creating pretty things, but is about asking serious questions and pondering our collective future.”
David Adjaye is founder and Principal Architect of Adjaye Associates , established in June 2000. The firm is known for its wide range of work covering Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The London-based architect is know for his work on cultural projects such as the Francis Gregory Library in Washington, DC or institutional work such as the Moscow School of Management in Russia. The firm is currently working on the Smithsonian Institution’s ambitious National Museum of African American Culture and History in Washington, DC.
Yoshiharu Tsukamoto and Momoyo Kajima founded the Tokyo-based architecture firm, Atelier Bow-Wow in 1992. It is well known for its domestic and cultural architecture and its research exploring the urban conditions of micro, ad hoc architecture. The firm has done work in speculative building, such as the Mado Building, which was built without a client, giving the architects full creative liberty and turning the work into a product rather than a service. Atelier Bow-Wow is also known for its cultural work, such as the Hanamidori Cultural Center in Tokyo.
Tatiana Bilbao formed her own practice in 2004 in Mexico City. She recently led the design of the master plan for Ruta del Peregrino, a 117 km pilgrim route along which structures were placed to service the 2 million people that travel along the route. She collaborated with artists and architects to develop the design.
Teddy Cruz of Estudio Teddy Cruz, established the research based architecture practice in 2000. His research includes the Tijuana-San Diego Border and has worked closely with non-profit organizations such as Casa Familiar on inclusive sociocultural housing and its relationship to urban policy.
Rahul Mehrotra, founder of RMA Architects, is based in India. He has built extensively in India with projects ranging from architecture to urban design to conservation and includes development projects and master plans in addition to single family houses.
Kibwe Tavares is the co-founder of Factory Fifteen, a creative studio that specializes in animation, film and architectural representation. Tavares was recognized for his 2011 short film, Robots of Brixton, which not only portrayed a visually rich and detailed city, but presented a social commentary of class struggles as they pertain to societies all over the world.
Register now and download the program here.
