Sofia Aleixo

Born in Lisbon, Portugal (1967). Graduated in Architecture by the Faculty of Architecture – Technical University of Lisbon (1991). Attended the curricular units of the Tercer Ciclo em Teoría y Prática de la Rehabilitación Arquitectónica y Urbana from Sevilla University (Spain) (2003-2004). Aproved in Pedagogical and Scientific Capacity Proofs in Architecture, at Évora University (2007). Doctor of Philosophy in Architectural Conservation (Cultural Heritage Values) with the thesis "Cultural Values change in the Rehabilitation of Historic Schools in Portugal", under the supervision of Dr. Nicholas Walliman and Dr. Aylin Orbasli, by the School of Architecture, Faculty of Technology, Design and Environment, Oxford Brookes University (Oxford - UK, 2016). PhD scholarship from the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT) between 2009 and 2013.

Since 1991, Sofia has been working with Architect Victor Mestre. Sofia Aleixo is founder partner at Victor Mestre | Sofia Aleixo, Arquitectos, an architectural practice based in Lisbon, Portugal. The practice has been involved in both research and architectural design, in Europe, Africa, and Asia. The firm provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services for historic buildings and conservation projects. Designing a wide range of projects, private and public, including interventions in listed buildings and sites, the firm has focused on heritage conservation and adaptive reuse, developing research regarding the vernacular architecture in countries of Portuguese influence and on the cultural values of 20th century-built heritage. 

Has Projects and buildings published in several dedicated publications, national and international. The office work in the conservation of cultural heritage has been selected to be included in special publications and to represent Portuguese architecture. Her architectural and research work at vmsa architects has been presented in several international conferences and symposia in Portugal, Spain, Germany, England, Slovenia, India, Mexico and Brazil. The office work has participated in collective exhibitions. The office work in the conservation of cultural heritage has also been awarded. In 2013 our work in the Lyceum Passos Manuel (Lisbon, Portugal) the first purposely designed and built secondary school in Portugal, wan Europe's  most prestigious prize in the heritage field given to the most outstanding achievements in Conservation Category of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards, which recognizes the excellence and dedication by architects and cultural heritage experts. (Europa Nostra Awards have the support of the Creative Europe programme of the European Union). 

She started teaching in Higher Education in 1996 at IADE (Marketing, Design and Visual Arts Institute) till 2000, teaching the subjects of Material Technology (2nd Year) and CAD (4th Year). Was invited to conceive and coordinate the CAD Department from 1988 to 2000, where she subsequently conceived and taught CAD courses. Sofia Aleixo currently works at Évora University - Arts School, Architecture Department in Portugal, teaching Design studio units since 2002 in the Integrated Master's in Architecture. Here, she supervises dissertations, having been awarded under the IHRU - Dissertations 2018 and Archiprix 2018 Prize. Appointed by the Department of Architecture to represent the University of Évora at the 15th Secil Universidades - Arquitectura Prize (2019).

She taught at the School of Architecture, Oxford Brookes University, at the MA in International Architectural Regeneration and Development (in 2012), where she undertook her PhD. Her research interest in architectural heritage started by the end of the 1980's and since then she has been working in practice and researching the topic, trying to understand more about historic buildings and their significance for today's life. The process of remembering has always been a motive for conservation and a concern for vmsa architects, as we believe that memories play a significant role in people's identity and therefore, in conservation management. In the Research field, she has been working on bibliographical researches oriented to safeguard and enhance cultural heritage, project methods, and construction. Methods of Project and of its Construction Site Implement" at the University of Évora, July 2006 / January 2007. Nowadays her research is centered on the Historical Lyceums of Continental Portugal, their original projects, and the methods of intervention in restoration and the implementation of the School-Park Remodeling Program. As elected themes she chooses professional practice, intervention ethics, and the project-finished work relationship, from conception to building, from technologies to architectonic object. For this largely contributes the Technical Assistance performed by the Construction Site of Projects developed at the Studio, from all over Portugal.

More recently (since 2017) she became an Integrated Researcher at CHAM-SLHI/FCSH/UNova, responsible for the area of Architecture in the RIC - Ideas and Culture Magazines Project (http://ric.slhi.pt/), with the public launch of the first architecture magazine "A Construcção Moderna" (2019). Collaborating researcher at the University of Évora at CHAIA and at the IHC-CEHFCi hub.

 

 Manuela Gatto

Manuela Gatto is a Director at Zaha Hadid Architects, where she has worked since February 2002. She’s involved in all aspects of project organization, including design and technical team management along with contract administration, fee estimates and contract negotiation.

She has been Project Architect of the Bridge Pavilion, completed for Zaragoza EXPO 2008, of which she supervised all development stages including construction.

She has also been Project Architect of the Zorrozaurre peninsula and for Olabeaga-S.Mames area master plans in Bilbao, and for KutxaBank tower, also in Bilbao.

As Project Director, she has completed the construction of “Hongqiao SOHO”, a 343,410 m² mixed use development promoted by SOHO China and located in Shanghai and is currently developing a 140,000 m² hotel resort in Hainan (south China) for Taj Hotels.

Alongside her role as Project Director, she is actively involved in the management of the office as a whole, managing finances and resources for a cluster consisting in approximately one third of ZHA’s architectural staff.

She studied and gained her professional degree at the Istituto Universitario di Architettura di Venezia (Italy) in 1998. Subsequently, she continued with her postgraduate studies in the field of Advanced Architectural Design at the Design Research Laboratory of the Architectural Association, London, where she received her Master of Architecture degree with Honours in January 2002. Her graduate thesis project has been published under the title “Negotiate My Boundary” by the Architectural Association in 2002 and re-published by Birkhaeuser (2006).

As well as collaborating with Zaha Hadid architects, Manuela has taught in the Intermediate School at the Architectural Association in London for two years.

 

 Vahid Ghobadian

Ohio State University, USA, 1976-1981, Bachelor of Science in Architecture.

Catholic University of America, USA summer of 1980, won the Max Black award for the Best Metaphor.

Ohio State University, USA, 1981-1983 Master of Architecture. Minor in City and Regional Planning.

Azad Islamic University, 1995-1999, Ph.D. in Architecture,

Taught at several different Universities for the past twenty-seven years in Iran and abroad. Researcher of the year 2005 of the Islamic Azad University. The head of the architectural department of the Islamic Azad University in Dubai, United Arab Emirates 2006-2011.

Associate professor at Islamic Azad University, Tehran Branch, has taught Architectural Design Studio, History and theory of Architecture, Contemporary and Sustainable Architecture.

Member of the International Energy Agency, SHC Task 28/BSC Annex 38 project, had lectures in Sustainable Solar Housing Seminars in Australia, England and France as well as the University of Rome. 

Lectures in various Universities, architectural organizations, and governmental agencies in Iran and Dubai about traditional, sustainable and contemporary architecture.    

Established White Architecture consultant in Tehran-1994, in the summer of 1999 the consultant won the best award for the Solar Office Building Design competition in the city of Yazd.

Head of Jury members of several national and international architectural competitions since 2017, Member of the board and head of the architectural expert group of construction engineering organization of Tehran Province since 2017. 

Published more than eighty architectural papers in peer-reviewed ISI journals, architectural magazines, university and professional Journals. 

The list of published books is:

Climatic Analysis of the Traditional Iranian Buildings 1995, Theories and Concepts in the Contemporary Western Architecture 2003, Bioclimatic Housing, Innovative Designs for Warmer Climates (co-author) 2008, Styles and Concepts in Contemporary Iranian Architecture 2016, Tradition and Modernity in the Contemporary Architecture of Tehran During Naseredin Shah Period 2018, Sustainable Traditional Buildings of Iran, A Climatic Analysis 2020.

 

 Styliani Lefaki

Dr. Styliani Lefaki was born in Thessaloniki and is an architect with postgraduate studies in the field of Protection, Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Monuments. Her PhD research focused on glass constructions and transparency dealing with architectural heritage (2010 to 2014 member of COST Action TU 0905 European Research Networkon Structural Glass / topic of dissertation: Glass constructions and architectural monuments. ‘’ Transparency in the service of the protection, restoration and enhancement of architectural heritage’)’.

From 1981 to 2014 she was the owner of the architectural design office Lefaki- Zoidis together with George Zoidis . The office was engaged in public and private architectural projects, many of which have been distinguished and published.

She has participated with distinctions in international and pan-Hellenic architectural competitions and has served as technical consultant to european organizations and municipal companies.

Today she is associate professor at the Department of Architectural History, Art History, Architectural Morphology and Restoration of the School of Architecture and Engineering at the Polytechnical College of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. 

Her teaching and research subjects in undergraduate master and postgraduate courses are: Architectural Design, Restoration and Reuse of Historic Buildings and Ensembles, Management of Cultural Heritage, History and Theory of Restoration.

Apart from her teaching activity at the School of Architecture of Aristotle University, she teaches at the following Interdisciplinary  postgraduate Programs of the Aristotle University: a) Protection and Conservation of Cultural Monuments, b)Museology and Cultural Management, c) Philosophical, Pedagogical and Interdisciplinary Anthropology and d) Tourism and Regional Development.  Among her teaching activities are the tutoring of diploma, master -and PhD thesis. 

She collaborates with universities and cultural institutes abroad as an invited speaker and researcher and organizes international workshops for architecture students and researchers in Greece and abroad. She also participates in international research projects dealing with cultural heritage management and the environmental Issues.

She is the founder and director of the Research Laboratory of Architectural History and Architectural Heritage Management (G.N.S. 3283/06.08.2020/ 25991) and currently director of the 4th Department of Architectural History, Art History, Architectural Morphology and Restoration of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. 

She is a regular member of the Committee of the Centre for Preservation of Athonite Heritage , which controls the building and restoration activities technical and environmental interventions in Mount Athos (UNESCO World heritage Monument, Date of Inscription: 1988 Criteria: (i)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)Property: 33,042.3 ha Dossier: 454). 

She also participates as member in committees for the judgment of architectural competitions.  

Foreign languages: English, (level - Proficiency), French, (holder of Certificat d'Études Françaises), German, (German School, holder of ABITUR). Italian (Certificato della Lingua Italiana, Livello B2)

 

 Carlo Ratti

An architect and engineer by training, Professor Carlo Ratti teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he directs the Senseable City Lab, and is a founding part-ner of the international design and innovation office Carlo Ratti Associati. He graduated from the Politecnico di Torino and the École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in Paris, and later earned his MPhil and PhD at the University of Cambridge, UK.

A leading voice in the debate on new technologies’ impact on urban life and design, Car-lo has co-authored over 500 publications, including “The City of Tomorrow” (Yale University Press, with Matthew Claudel), and holds several technical patents. His articles and interviews have appeared on international media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Financial Times, Scientific American, BBC, Project Syn-dicate, Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore, Domus. His work has been exhibited worldwide at venues such as the Venice Biennale, the Design Museum Barcelona, the Science Museum in London, MAXXI in Rome, and MoMA in New York City.

Carlo has been featured in Esquire Magazine’s ‘Best & Brightest’ list and in Thames & Hud-son’s selection of ‘60 innovators’ shaping our creative future. Blueprint Magazine included him as one of the ‘25 People Who Will Change the World of Design’, Forbes listed him as one of the ‘Names You Need To Know’ and Fast Company named him as one of the ’50 Most Influen-tial Designers in America’. He was also featured in Wired Magazine’s ‘Smart List: 50 people who will change the world’. Three of his projects – the Digital Water Pavilion, the Copenhagen Wheel and Scribit – have been included by TIME Magazine in the list of the ‘Best Inventions of the Year’.

Carlo has been a presenter at TED (in 2011 and 2015), program director at the Strelka Insti-tute for Media, Architecture and Design in Moscow, curator of the BMW Guggenheim Pavilion in Berlin, and was named Inaugural Innovator in Residence by the Queensland Government. He was the curator of the Future Food District pavilion for the 2015 World Expo in Milan and chief curator of the "Eyes of the City" section at the 2019 UABB Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism of Shenzhen. He is currently serving as co-chair of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Cities and Urbanization.

For further information visit www.carloratti.com and senseable.mit.edu

 

 

   

Hüseyin Yanar is an author, devoted learner and mentor. He has lived, taught in four different countries and learned from four different cultures, and is always captivated by the charms of Art and Architecture of which he followed. He believes that there are many architectures not only one. For him "space for growth" is very essential to find a unique way for a person in our field. He also thinks that better to forget architecture and go out of it as much as possible and come back powerfully to see everything with a new, fresh and critical eye. Yanar graduated with high honors from the Istanbul State Academy of Fine Arts (MSGSÜ) and finalized his Ph.D. on “Rhythm and Rhythmic Volumetry” in Architecture and thought at the same institution for many years. His journey at Oxford Brookes University started with his MPhil thesis on “Rhythmic Patterns” where he spent five years also directing architectural design studios and giving lectures. Later, followed his Finland experience where he joined Aalto, Tampere Universities, and Helsinki Fine Arts Academy mentoring many students. Yanar wrote one of the three articles (the others were Luis Fernandes Galliano, Netta Böök) in the book of Finnish Architectural Biennale selection 2010/2011, and he participated in the exhibition “Istanbul Stream and Bridges” with his work “Father Hagia Sophia” at the Finnish Arts Academy in 2012. Later, Yanar was invited to Busan Dong Eui University of South Korea and became Associate Professor in 2013-14. In the exhibition of “Two Paths to Silence” together with Finnish Artist Jussi Tiainen, his texts were exhibited at the Museum of Finnish Architecture, in 2014. Yanar also took part in Tallinn Architecture Biennale with his drawings, lecture, and workshop in 2015. His book, “Portraits” which has an introductory from Juhani Pallasmaa, was published in 2011 in Finland, attracted a lot of interest in the region, and got one of the prizes of “The Most Beautiful Finnish Books 2011”. Now, he is finalizing the second volume of “Portraits”. In recent years, Yanar has been teaching in the experimental studios of the “Urban Meditation” course in Urban Planning Group, Faculty of Built Environment, Tampere University, Finland. He has numerous awards, jury memberships, talks, exhibitions, many critical articles, and some built projects and he has also a studio named Orpheus North Architects. 

 

 

* In alphabetical order