Speakers

Professor
↪ Material responsive design / @architectureuntold

Architect and educator with a multidisciplinary interest based in Basel and Cairo.
Christian graduated from TU Darmstadt in Germany and was teaching design and material sustainability with a focus on earth and simple building methods with Anna Heringer and Martin Rauch at the ETH in Zurich in Switzerland.
Prior he was working for Herzog & de Meuron and other offices. He is an experienced architect who has practiced in Germany, Switzerland and internationally on projects that have been award winning and widely published.
His research and practice focus on immersive and narrative design methodologies in architectural design (Architecture Untold) and how natural materials (especially earth and timber) and its construction methods can be integrated to cultivate a contemporary, sustainable and responsible architectural design process (Material Untold).
Christian Schmitt is currently Assoc. Prof in the Architecture and Urban Design Program at the German University in Cairo where he links state-of-the-art approaches (VR AR and MR) with local traditions by highlighting earth - per nature circular – again as a contemporary building material.

Founder
↪ fr·ee

Fernando Romero is an architect and designer based in Mexico City. Over the past two decades, he has developed a practice that encompasses projects across scales and contexts, including museums, office spaces, urban plans, and desert landscapes. Through this body of work, he has defined a position for himself as the leading voice of architectural futurism in Latin America. Upon the completion of his studies in architecture at the Universidad Iberoamericana, Fernando worked at OMA before establishing his own office. He has lectured at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the Mexican Chamber of Architects.

Founder
↪ Ignacio Rojas Hirigoyen

Architect Catholic University. He worked as a collaborator in several workshops between 2005 and 2010 in projects of housing, equipment and housing in height. As Project Owner he developed office buildings for Credit Suisse and Mall Plaza. Since 2010 he has been an independent Architect and Builder designing and building houses, commercial and health equipment, among others. He has exhibited at several instances winning the 2019 Buenos Aires Architecture Biennial with Casa Leyda and the first place in the New York Architecture Biennale in 2022 with "Industrialized Bulding System Prototype". His work has been published in various specialized media such as DETAIL, Domus, AV, Wallpaper and Archdaily.

Co-Director
↪ IAAC's Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB)

Michael Salka is Co-director of the Master in Advanced Ecological Buildings & Biocities (MAEBB) operated by the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia’s (IAAC) Valldaura Labs, Technical Director of Valldaura Labs, and a Gates Scholar PhD in Architecture candidate at the University of Cambridge (2021-2025). The MAEBB is a one-year, immersive, post-professional degree programme emphasising the integration of computational sensing, modeling and manufacturing techniques including: environmental simulation, 3D printing, CNC machining, and robotics, amongst others; with locally-sourced natural materials to produce structures and systems performatively embedded in their ecologies. Students "learn by living" on the Valldaura estate, a 135ha forested property located 10km from the Barcelona city center within the 8000ha Collserola Natural Park. Valldaura Labs' headquarters is an historic XIX-century farmhouse renovated to host digital fabrication tools and a carpentry workshop, alongside educational and domestic amenities enriched by surrounding agroecology facilities. The MAEBB curriculum culminates annually in the autonomous construction of a prototypical, self-sufficient building demonstrating the emergent potential of engineered timber assemblies. MAEBB prototypes have been featured in popular media outlets like The New York Times (2021). Besides leading these experiments and related public spaces interventions in Spain (2018-present), Michael's career has promoted sustainable development through the planning, design and construction of water infrastructures in Rwanda (2013-2014), and net-zero renewable energy-powered neighborhoods and mixed-use urban infill developments in the USA (2014-2018). He has authored peer-reviewed research articles and books such as Springer Nature's Transforming Biocities (2023) commissioned by the European Forest Institute (EFI), as well as reports on biobased development strategies for the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) (2023). Michael’s doctorate investigates how geospatial data can inform the nature-based value chains required to meet the massive global demand for new or renovated buildings in light of climate change, ecological crises, and the pressing need to decarbonise the built environment.

Founder
↪ Garrido Kohan

studied Architecture and attended postgraduate master studies in Advanced Architectural Design at the FADU-UBA in Buenos Aires, Argentina. From 2014 to 2018 he held a DAAD research scholarship for a PhD at TU Kaiserslautern. The research entitled ‘Innovative design strategies. The case of eclectic architecture in Buenos Aires 1880-1930’ focused on the relationship between manufacturing techniques and design strategies during the 19th century and its reinterpretation under the light of contemporary digital tools.
He held teaching and research positions in Argentina, Germany and Egypt in topics of digital design, theory and digital fabrication, and he is also involved in research projects related to digital manufacturing and artificial intelligence in architectural design. Federico is teaching as a postdoc Researcher at Bau- und Architekturgeschichte, KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) in Germany.

↪ Natura Matéria

César Cardoso, graduated Civil Engineer since 2004 at Universidade do Minho (UM), post-graduated in Construction Management, Technology and Physics at the same institution and later completed the Master thesis “Desenvolvimento do projeto Janela Eco Eficiente (JEE)” in 2008. Since 2005, collaborated with Constructions Physics and Technology Lab on building acoustics, environmental acoustics and buildings thermal behavior. On the same institution he was invited assistant, for 4 years, at the Civil Engineering department. During this period, he developed R&D activity at the construction material department at UM’s CVR – Centro de Valorização de Resíduos and later in the research group Fibrenamics. From 2017 to 2020 e collaborated with the architecture company – SKREY, lda. where he was responsible for the technology department, research oriented, low environmental impact materials development and production. This activity resulted in the production of a non-structural block with hemp fibers, a breakthrough in Portugal. Highlighting the consultancy for the production of Compressed Earth Blocks with earth from Herdade do Esporão, at Reguengos de Monsaraz. In 2021 founded Natura Matéria as a Spin Off of UM, a consultant and reseller of construction products that follow the new market demands regarding sustainability, based in the concept of circular economy and healthy housing.

↪ CRU Arquitectura e Investigação

Romain Deboulle, Belgian Architect, expatriate in Portugal for 5 years. His practice tends to blur the limits between the architect and the builder, with a specific interest on crafts, local materials and knowledges, as well as participative building process. This dream was concretized through his project named CRUA Atelier. 
This practice lead him to work in Montemor-O-Novo, Alentejo, for CRU Arquitectura e Investigação, a like-minded office.

Jérémy Pernet is a French Architect and Photographer living and practicing in Porto for 7 years now. His journey has been focused on Sustainability and our relationship with the architectural environment.

In 2020 he won the Prêmio Arquétipo, awarded by the Ordem dos Arquitectos Secção regional Norte, for a proposal exploring massive stone construction without Concrete nor metal reinforcement, highlighting its thermal advantages. Throughout a research and development phase, he built with a Limestone quarry a prototype of a prefabricated construction out of stone walls and wood slabs.

He’s now launching a consulting service both for pears who want to build out of massive stone, and any people or organization struggling with discomfort and energy waste in buildings.

Architect and lecturer
↪ Department of Architecture and Urbanism of Iscte-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa.

Co-director of the Professional Master in Digital Innovation for Design Practice (Iscte + FAUP). Researcher at DINÂMIA'CET-iscte and founder of the Vitruvius FabLab-Iscte Digital Fabrication Laboratory. Iscte coordinator for the H2020 / Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions, Innovative Training Networks project "RE-DWELL: Delivering affordable and sustainable housing in Europe". Supervises research projects in the field of digital architecture: computational design, processes, and digital tools to support design. Participates in and coordinates workshops and ongoing training with the support of the Portuguese industry and municipal councils on topics related to modular systems and sustainable communities. Special mention in Research and Teaching at the Forma 2022 Awards. Regularly contributes opinion articles to national media.

Co-Director
↪ Sustainability Research Institute, University of East London Director of conservation practice ‘Arts Lettres Techniques’
Co-creator Sugarcrete® Earthshot Prize nominee

Alan is a Specialist Conservation Architect working in parallel to an academic career with roles including Dean of Research, Research Excellence Framework leadership, award winning community engagement-led teaching and research into material innovation. Alan’s book on Fabric Formwork with Remo Pedreschi won an RIBA research award and was the first book to demonstrate how customary construction processes can be radically economised to achieve new formal possibilities. Current materials innovation work with Armor Gutierrez and Bamdad Ayati has created Sugarcrete® in partnership with Tate & Lyle, our development work with Grimshaw Architects creating Sugarcrete Slab which has been exhibited at the Royal Academy.
As a Heritage strategist and consultant with Cecilia Puga, Alberto Moletto and Paula Velasco, the team won the international competition for the restoration of a national monument, Palacio Pereira commemorating the Bi-Centenary of the Chilean Republic. This US$25m project was completed post-pandemic in 2021-2. Working with Puga again in 2022 the team was awarded the Palacio Subercasceaux 2022 in Valparaiso, restoring the remaining façades of the fire damaged building and inserting a new Regional archive and administration centre.
Alan Chairs the RIBA Conservation Register Steering Committee and has been an RIBA Regional Architecture Awards juror. Alan was previously Company Director at SH Architects 1993-2001, with projects including the restoration of the Grade II listed Queen Anne Petersham House, Richmond and the project management of a flagship store for Paul Smith in the Italian national monument ‘ Palazzo Gallarati Scotti’, Milano.
As Dean of Research with responsibility to redefine the relationships between researchers and research Groups and Centres for the post-REF2021 research environment, Alan established three cross-school, interdisciplinary Centres focussing on social justice, narrative based research and wellbeing using contemporary digital media hand-in-hand with public engagement to create social impact. During his tenure UEL achieved its highest ever annual grant capture.
Alan has been Principal Investigator (PI) responsible for the multi-partner delivery of the £10milion ERDF funded ENE and SENE programmes supporting SME’s and community stakeholders to decarbonise their practice or business across the East and South East of England, completing Summer 2023. Alan is a collaboration partner on ClimHub, a Regional research and investment programme in the Veneto establishing an environmental hub for agricultural and cultural production aligned to environmental and public benefit based at The University of Venice.
Alan is an experienced PhD Director of Studies, with five Doctoral completions (one jointly with IUAV, Venice - ‘Cum Laude’ 2019). PhD viva examiner at Edinburgh University 2019, Queens University 2020 and University of East London twice in 2023.

studio8 is an architecture and material design lab working between crafts and digital tools, proposing new solutions for space design, materials, and waste reclaim. studio8 aims to create new narratives about waste, in order to promote a circular approach to architecture and construction, preserving the material geology and local memory, without freezing its history.

↪ President of the Board of Directors of the Northern Regional Section of the Order of Architects

↪ Circular Fashion Business Advisor

↪ Councilor Environment and Energy Transition

Chairperson
↪ GROUPWORK

Amin was born in Berlin and has been settled in London where he chairperson at GROUPWORK, an employee ownership studio of architects. He also teaches at London’s RCA and is a trustee at the Sir John Soane Museum.

Partner
↪ PERIS+TORAL ARQUITECTES

Jose Toral is a partner, along with Marta Peris, at the architecture firm PERIS+TORAL ARQUITECTES, based in Barcelona. The firm focuses on researching new ways of living and building to address the challenges posed by the climate and housing emergency. Since 2016, José Toral has been an associate professor at the Department of Architectural Projects at ETSAB UPC, specializing in the study of public space and urban projects.
The creative work of PERIS+TORAL ARQUITECTES has been consolidated by winning numerous national public competitions, and the quality and rigor of their built works have been recognized by various international awards, such as the Matilde Baffa Ugo Rivolta European Architecture Award 2021, the Gold Label Best Architects 22 Award in the multifamily housing category, the Architecture MasterPrize 2021 in the multi-unit residential architecture category, The Plan Award 2021 in the social housing category, the BLT Built Design Awards in the social housing category, the Live Challenge Award by Baumit, and as a finalist in the Eu Mies Award 22 with the 85 social housing units in Cornellà, in 2022

Founder and Partner
↪ einszueins architektur

He completed his studies in architecture at the TU Wien and the ETSA Seville. 2006-2015 he taught design for prospective builders at Nimmerrichter courses and took the builder examination in 2009 and the civil engineering examination in 2016. In addition to 12 years of experience in the planning and execution of residential construction projects of various scales, he has advanced training in the field of mediation and community building. Markus Zilker is a founding member of both the „Initiative für gemeinschaftliches Bauen und Wohnen“ and the „Wohnprojekt Wien“ co-housing project, which was awarded the Staatspreis für Architektur und Nachhaltigkeit in 2014, amongst others.
Markus Zilker also has many years of experience in dealing with small and large group processes, from process design and communication to the moderation of workshops and working groups.
As an expert on the subject of „Baugruppen“ (co-housing) and participation in planning, he can demonstrate national and international lectures at symposia, workshops and conferences.

Founder
↪ Boltshauser Architekten AG

After graduating from ETH Zurich in 1995, Roger Boltshauser (*1964) founded Boltshauser Architekten AG in Zurich the following year. Currently, a team of around 75 employees works on projects in all service phases. In 2021, a second office was opened in Munich. In addition to his office activities, Roger Boltshauser was engaged as a lecturer in design at the HTW Chur from 2004 to 2010 and in the master's program at the Hochschule Anhalt Dessau (DIA) in the Chur Institute of Architecture (CIA) from 2005 to 2009. From 2016 to 2017 he was a guest professor at EPFL Lausanne and from 2017 to 2018 a guest professor at TU Munich. Since 2018, he has been a professor at ETH Zurich. From 2012 to 2018 he was a member of the Stadtbaukommission of the city of Lucerne, from 2018 to 2022 he was part of the Baukollegium of the city of Zurich and since 2022 he is a member of the Baukollegium in Berlin.

Founded in Milan in 2000 by Filippo Pagliani and Michele Rossi, Park Associati focuses on architectural design, urban planning, landscape, interior design and product design.Park Associati's approach to architecture is analytical, pragmatic and tailored, strong in tradition and at the same time capable of generating new linguistic codes through a process that combines listening, intuition and experimentation.
Whether it is the Regione Lombardia skyscraper, the Luxottica or Salewa headquarters, a residential space, a Hermés, Brioni or Canali luxury boutique around the world, the retrofitting of a Milan’s Modernist building or the restoration of an entire neighbourhood, Park Associati sees each project as an opportunity to seek innovative, tailor-made solutions expressed through quality and attention to human beings.

Branco Del-Rio is an architecture studio based in Coimbra.

Paula del Rio. Soria,1985
Studied architecture at the Technical School of Architecture of Madrid between 2003 and 2010, where she studied the Master en Proyectos Arquitectónicos Avanzados in 2011, when she also started her teaching career as an assistant professor in the chair of Juan Carlos Sancho teaching design of fourth and fifth course. She is currently developing her PhD thesis entitled "La identidad como concepto clave en la ciudad de finales del Siglo XX". Her professional career has developed as a collaborator in the offices of Francisco Mangado in Pamplona and ​​Sancho-Madridejos in Madrid. She ir currently invited Assistant in Design I Studio (1st year) at Darq UC, Coimbra.

João Branco. Coimbra, 1983
Studied architecture at the Department of Architecture of the University of Coimbra and ETSA in Barcelona between 2001 and 2008. He studied the Máster en Proyectos Arquitectónicos Avanzados in the departamento de proyectos at the UMP ETSAM in Madrid in 2011 where he teached as a professor assistant in the chair of Juan Carlos Sancho. In 2014 he finished the Energy for Sustainability (EfS) postgraduate studies, an initiative of the University of Coimbra in partnership with MIT Portugal Program. Between 2008 and 2010 he worked in the offices of Jorge Teixeira Dias, BAAS, Jordi Badia and João Mendes Ribeiro. He began working independently in 2011.
He currently develops a PhD Thesis in Darq UC, Coimbra, he is a junior reseracher in CES (Centro de Estudos Sociais). In 2018-2019 course he was a Guest Assistant in Design Studio II A (5th year) with Paulo Providência.

Founder
↪ SUMMARY

Samuel Gonçalves is the founder of  SUMMARY, an architectural practice based in Portugal, working alongside with the industry of prefabrication. His work has been published and exhibited globally in several venues, such as La Biennale di Venezia, Boston Society of Architects, BAUHAUS Centenary and Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Centre for Architecture. SUMMARY was selected as “The Emerging Architect of the Year” by the Dezeen readers in 2020, and as one of the 20 best young practices of 2021 by Archdaily. In the last few years, the studio has developed projects of different scales and types of programs, always with the underlying mission of exploring the potential of modularity, offsite solutions, and its tectonic effect in architecture.

Founder
↪ Pedrez

Oficina de Arquitectura Pedrez, based in Porto, was created in 2020 by Matilde Cabral and Francisco Adão da Fonseca and was born from the couple’s decision to start working together, combining Matilde’s textile knowledge with Francisco’s architectural visions.

Cultivated building materials and Infrastructures of self-sufficiency.

Muro Atelier strives to challenge the concept of ephemerality through a practice focused on the reuse of materials and the revitalization of spaces. Through its research and installations, this initiative aims to reshape our perception of city dynamics, moving towards a more circular and sustainable system, empowering urban participants to understand and take advantage of the potential resources available. The "Wall" encapsulates the fundamental essence of architecture, exploring notions of materiality, boundary and scale. The wall embodies numerous metaphors in the collective imagination: an insurmountable barrier, but also a gateway to freedom. Rooted in their physical, cultural and historical context, the installations devised by the collective narrate and reveal the spaces they occupy, placing visitors at the center of their experiences.

Associat Professor
↪ Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP)

José Pedro is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP). Within FAUP, he established and leads the Digital Fabrication Laboratory (DFL / CEAU), a research group committed to investigating how digital transformation influences architectural concepts, design processes, and construction methods. Additionally, he serves as a member of the High-Level Roundtable for the New European Bauhaus initiative.

↪ Senior Lecturer, University of East London, UEL Associate, Sustainability Research Institute, SRI Co‐creator Sugarcrete TM Earthshot Prize Nominee

Armor is an architect, researcher, and maker, interested in how sustainable innovation can have a positive impact in our built environment. Prior to joining the University of East London as a Senior Lecturer, he gained extensive professional experience working for some of the world's most distinguished architecture firms such as Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen, MVRDV in Rotterdam, or KPF in London, where he attained the level of Associate Principal.
Since 2017, he runs the design studio Unit 8 MArch at UEL, alongside delivering Technical and Environmental Studies as Module Leader across BSc and MArch levels. The studio teaching has been rewarded with the RIBA Silver Medal Nomination 2019‐21‐22, the RIBA Dissertation Medal 2020, the RIBA London Skin Thinking award 2020‐21‐22 and the RIBA London Sustainability Award 2021‐22.
In 2020 he becomes an Associate of the Sustainability Research Institute SRI at UEL, developing several interdisciplinary Knowledge Exchange projects, including the co‐creation of Sugarcrete, an ultra‐low carbon material using sugarcane bio‐waste as a core resource. Sugarcrete has been nominated for the Earthshot Prize 2023 ‐ considered the most prestigious global prize for the environment in history.
Armor is a visiting professor in several international universities including Architecture Polytechnic University of Madrid; New Design University Vienna; Luxembourg Center for Architecture LUCA; Hochschule Kaiserslautern University of Applied Sciences; Manchester School of Architecture; Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Qatar; University of Liverpool School of Architecture; University of Thessaly, and University of Nebraska‐Lincoln.
In 2015 he co‐founded Atelier La Juntana, a workshop exploring architecture, design and creative fabrication through sustainable making. As part of this exploration he organises, in collaboration with Madrid Polytechnic University of Architecture, a Visiting Summer School which welcomes international students sharing a common interest on sustainable materials and critical making.
His work is part of an extensive number of exhibitions and collections, such as the 14th and 16th International Architecture Exhibition Venice Biennale, the London Festival of Architecture, the Cite de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine in Paris, the Danish Architecture Centre, the Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and the VCU Arts Tasmeen Doha Biennale.

↪ Moderator “Material Research and Design”

↪ Chair ULI Portugal

↪ COO Carmo Wood