“Creating New Architecture Through Research: On Materiality", the second edition of the International Research and Design Forum, opened a vast field that invited scientists, innovators and forward-thinkers to share their body of work, creativity and expertise and to offer perspectives into a possible future.
The event jointly organized by the SOM Foundation and IntCDC, took place on October 14, 2022 and was attended by more than 300 participants.
Welcoming remarks by Iker Gil, Executive Director of the SOM Foundation, and Jan Knippers, Deputy Director of IntCDC, opened the inspiring day of thought-provoking transdisciplinary presentations.
In impressive talks, the following speakers shared how academic research stimulates innovation in practice and inspires the future of design of the built world.
Sigrid Adriaenssens – Princeton University
STRUCTURE AS MATERIAL
Thomas Auer – TU Munich & Transsolar | KlimaEngineering
BREATH – Evidence based Design!
Martina Bauer – Barkow Leibinger
EXPERIMENTS & SOLUTIONS
Mollie Claypool – UCL The Bartlett
REVOLUTIONIZING HOUSING
Brandon Clifford – MIT & Matter Design
TERRESTRIAL CELESTIAL
Paul Fast – Fast + Epp
COALESCING PRACTICE AND RESEARCH
Antón García-Abril – Ensamble Studio
ARCHITECTURE OF THE EARTH
Mariana Popescu – TU Delft
CHALLENGING CONSTRUCTION WITH FLEXIBILITY
Jenny Sabin – Cornell University & Jenny Sabin Studio
BIOSYNTHETIC DESIGN: Living & AI-driven Materials Innovation
Mark Sarkisian – SOM Engineering
NEW ARCHITECTURE TRHOUGH RESEARCH
Joshua G. Stein – Radical Craft
MATERIAL GEOMETRY – MATERIAL GEOLOGY
Architect and structural engineer Werner Sobek, founder of the Werner Sobek Group was honored during the symposium for his contributions in the fields of architecture and engineering. He was presented with the recognition by William Baker, SOM Structural Engineering Consulting Partner and inaugural honoree of the International Research and Design Forum (reported by the SOM Foundation).
"Yesterday, we had the privilege to expose some of our research to this fantastic audience. Today, we felt incredibly honored and privileged to have the SOM Foundation host their fantastic event with this incredible line up of speaker here at the University of Stuttgart" emphasized Achim Menges in his closing remarks. He further expressed his thanks to the audience for attending the Stuttgart Week of Advancing Architecture, Engineering and Construction (SWAA).
On behalf of the SOM Foundation, Iker Gil extended his gratitude to each one of the speakers, that were able to take time from their business schedule to show their work. "Listening to each of them, talk about their ambitions, processes and the overall research is inspiring and a motivation to continue to explore what is possible." said Iker Gil "I can't wait to see what comes out of so many great people spending time together in Stuttgart."
Recordings ot the presentations are available by the SOM Foundation on their website.
