Open Program 2017

The theme of the 2017 edition has been the void.

The nine conferences were given by Carlos Ferrater, Jordi Badia, Carlos Kasner, Josep Maria Mallarach, Hisao Suzuki, Paco Azorín, Àngels Margarit, Richard Levene and Efrén García Grinda & Cristina Díaz Moreno.

The Workshop of Dreams

A project of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)
With the collaboration of IE School of Architecture and Design, Hay Festival Segovia
Made in: La Navarra Carpentry
Assembly design: Filipe Faustino, Andrea Buchner
From 1 to 20 August 2017

Four designers – Izaskun Chinchilla, Benedetta Tagliabue, RCR Arquitectes and Jacob Benbunan – have worked with renowned chefs Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, the director of the Pritzker Prize Martha Thorne, the writer Javier Cercas and the paleoanthropologist Juan Luis Arsua completely new objects made of wood. The things are the dreams of the inspirer, but also the dreams of the designer, to try to make a completely new design or to try out ideas that have been floating around in the head but had not previously had the opportunity to make come true.

The Void

Carlos Ferrater

Carlos Ferrater Lambarri (Barcelona, Spain, 1944) founded in 2006 the company Office of Architecture in Barcelona (OAB) with Xavier Martí, Lucía Ferrater and Borja Ferrater. He is a Doctor of Architecture and Professor of Architectural Projects at the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB-UPC) and directs the Càtedra Blanca de Barcelona. He was elected academic of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Sant Jordi, Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Trieste, National Prize for Architecture 2009 and member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (2011).

Continuities

Jordi Badia

Jordi Badia (Barcelona, Spain, 1961) is an architect from the Barcelona School of Architecture (ETSAB-UPC). Founder and director of the BAAS study of architecture, he combines architecture with teaching at the Department of Architectural Projects of the ETSAB. He collaborates with the newspaper Ara and is editor of the HIC architecture blog. Together with Félix Arranz, he has curated the exhibition Vogadors of the Catalan and Balear Pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennal 2012. Highlights of his several works include the Museu Can Framis, the refurbishment of the Museu d’Història de Barcelona and the headquarters of the FAD.

The Workshop of Dreams

Carlos Kasner

Carlos Kasner (Madrid, Spain,1964) is a mountain engineer and has worked for the last 25 years promoting North American hardwoods for the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), carrying out market studies, communication tasks and organizing all kinds of events. He is also an independent consultant for some of the leading Spanish wood industries for the assurance of the quality of their products and for the development and implementation of chain of custody systems.

The Void in Nature and the Deep Reconnection with Her

Josep Maria Mallarach

Josep Maria Mallarach (Olot, Spain, 1955) was the first director of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park (1985-1991) and coordinated with Josep Germain the initial assessment of Catalonia’s protected areas system (2001-2003). It is part of the Working Group for the evaluation of the effectiveness of the management of protected areas of the World Commission of Protected Areas of the IUCN. He wrote the evaluation chapter of Spain’s Protected Natural Areas Action Plan (2002) and the first evaluation (2007). Since 2001, he has directed the master’s degree in protected natural areas at the Autonomous Universities of Madrid, Complutense and Alcalá de Henares. He has published six books and numerous articles. He is the founder of the Silene association to study, disseminate and promote the intangible spiritual and cultural heritage and its inherent values, especially with regard to Nature.

The Silent Image

Hisao Suzuki

Hisao Suzuki (Yamagata, Japan, 1957) graduated from the Tokyo School of Photography in 1979. Fascinated by the architecture of Antoni Gaudí, he arrived in Barcelona in 1982, where he settled. In 1986 he began to collaborate with the magazine El Croquis. He became its main photographer, contributing to the publication’s recognition as the means of disseminating contemporary architecture with the most prestige worldwide. His photographs have been published in almost all international architecture and design magazines and numerous books.

The Poetic Space: What You See Is A Vision Of The Invisible

Paco Azorín

Paco Azorín (Yecla, Spain, 1974) is a scenographer and stage director for the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona. He has created over two hundred scenographies for opera, theatre, zarzuela and dance in the most prestigious European theatres. As a set designer, he regularly works with the directors Lluís Pasqual, Carme Portaceli, Mario Gas, Francisco Negrín, Helena Pimenta, Sergi Belbel, Victor Ullate and Ernesto Caballero. He has received, among others, the Campoamor prize for the best production in 2015, the Ceres prize for the best scenographer in 2013, the Performing Arts prize for the best scenography in 2008 and the Josep Solbes prize in 2005, both from the Generalitat Valenciana.

Containers and Distances

Àngels Margarit

Àngels Margarit (Tarrasa, Spain, 1960) is a dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. In 1985 she began the career of his company Àngels Margarit/company MUDANCES to create projects that include creations for the scenic space, site specifics, improvisation, video dance, installations and research in new media, with an excellent international projection. She has also developed different educational programs and regularly teaches courses and workshops in Spain, Europe and America. She has received numerous awards, such as the National Dance Award of Catalonia (1986), the Grand Prix du Concours Chorégraphique de Bagnolet, France (1988) and the National Dance Award of the Ministry of Culture of Spain (2010). Since 2016 she has been the artistic director of Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona.

Comic Architectures

Richard Levene

Richard Levene (Madrid, Spain, 1957) is an architect from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM) in 1979. In 1982 he founded, together with Fernando Márquez, the magazine El Croquis, for whose graphic design he is responsible and which leads to the present. In 2013 he was appointed Honorary Member of the British RIBA. In 2014 he was awarded the Arts Award at the Avilés International Film and Architecture Festival. He is very fond of comics and has been collecting comics since childhood – He has given lectures on Architecture and Comics in Logronyo, El Escorial, Santander and Toledo.

Macaronic

Efrén García Grinda & Cristina Díaz Moreno

Cristina Díaz Moreno (Madrid, Spain, 1971) and Efrén García Grinda (Madrid, Spain, 1969) are architects from the Madrid School of Architecture (ETSAM) and founders of amid.cero9. They have an extensive teaching career at the AA School in London (2009-), Harvard University (2015-), the Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Vienna, ETSAM and ESAYA UEM, among others. Their projects and writings are documented in a publication entitled “Third Natures, a Micropedia” (2014) and in an exhibition at the AA, London. Among his works are the Golden Globe for MOT Tokyo, the Palm Pavilion for Sharjah and the Giner dels Ríos Foundation in Madrid. In addition, their works have been published in El Croquis nº 184.