Highlights and Overview of the S.ARCH-2014
A few years back, Belgrade and Serbia have not exist on the map of important places where experts around the world from the field of sustainable development, green building, design, and innovative architecture come together. But thanks to the organizers - the company RENECON and its German partner “Get It Published", as well as the initiator and founder of the International Conference S.ARCH, Marina Stosic an architect from Germany, the home audience had the honour just this spring to meet and hear the greats of sustainable architecture. In the period of 14-15 May in Belgrade, the experts gathered at the first international conference with the theme of "Sustainable Architecture". This two-day event was held at the Hyatt Regency Belgrade hotel and included two segments: the invited lectures given by prominent speakers from 8 countries around the world, and the exhibition of works of creative people from 18 countries, who are exploring sustainability in architecture.
Upon the selection and invitation by Marina Stosic, the Chairperson of the conference, worldwide famous minds, authors from various countries who, through their work and progress are moving the standards of architectural practice, presented and discussed their projects. We are talking about creative people and studios such as “GRAFT” (Germany, USA, China), “haas cook zemmrich STUDIO2050” (Germany), “Philippe Rahm architectes” (France), “STUDIO NICOLETTI ASSOCIATI” (Italy), “Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler Architekten Ingenieure” (Germany), “DTA / DJURIC TARDIO ARCHITECTES” (France), “enforma” (Montenegro), “Sadar + Vuga” (Slovenia), and many more. Each author uses his legitimate creations and unique attitude to weave his name into the world of renowned designers of today. The variety of topics and lectures that were presented show the maturity and courage that is rare in this days. The presented projects are among the most radical, the ones that changed the course of development of cities, opened the door to new dimensions of practice and confronted the modern world with the principles of sustainable development in architecture as the inevitable future development.
Initiator, founder and chairperson of the international conference and one of the moderators of the tandem ensemble program was the German architect Marina Stosic. The professor from the Belgrade Faculty of Architecture, Milica Jovanovic-Popovic was the second half of the moderator duo and one of the speakers. These two ladies skillfully conducted the lecturers and the audience through the maze of sustainable architecture today and connected them with an excellent synergy.
Architect David Cook from “STUDIO2050” (Germany) started the conference talking about the synergy of modern cities and sustainable development. Cities will be developed as a coexisting component of individual identity and the potential of context, and sustainable development and the organism "city" are inextricably linked. The city is rather a resource than a cluster of buildings as objects, which has first to be understood before being reorganised, adapted, redefined and reused. The city is the playground for testing ideas.
The “GRAFT” studio (Germany, USA, China) was presented by its three founders: Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit and Lars Krueckeberg bringing the grain of radical but simple ideas. They spoke about the project and the process of revitalization of New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina, and how they, designers by professional call, stepped out the shoes of one profession and took the directions of another profession in order to restore and build a different, more sustainable city. They also showed a business research project - solar kiosk currently installed in several African countries as an innovative process of connecting and opening up new opportunities in undeveloped countries. “GRAFT” does not believe in alms because of their unsustainability but rather in alms transformation into business with active inclusion of community.
One of the last lectures of the first day were marked by the innovative use of natural materials and construction systems that were mentioned by Eike Roswag, a front man of the studio “Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler Arhitekten Ingenieure” (Germany). According to him, the sustainability of future facilities and practices is reflected in the implementation of intelligent approaches and the need to design and work in harmony with the natural cycles. Roswag uses soil, wood, bamboo and various natural fibre as materials for building, which allow him to achieve desired climate and ecological architectural characteristic through natural art with minimum use of technology, particularly without air-condition and ventilation systems.
This was followed by lectures of Branislav Mitrovic (Serbia) and Nikola Novakovic from (Montenegro), the architects whose creative practice respects the sustainability and interprets it in a unique way. Professor Mitrovic does it with a sensible treatment of the fa�ade through the material, materialization and texture.
The second day of the conference started with the lecture of the architect Luca Francesco Nicoletti, co-founder and director of the “STUDIO NICOLETTI ASSOCIATI” from Rome, Italy. As the son of one of the pioneers of sustainable architecture Nicoletti believes that eloquence and power of creative architectural language must be in harmony with the natural environment. According to him, architecture does not interpret the form, but rather the logic of traditional building, which is fully accommodated to climatic surroundings. The key problem of monotonous architecture is basically building of standards, a certain profile which stagnates and causes problems in ecosystems blind to the future and harmful to the environment.
One of the southern countries of perpetual spring, New Zealand is represented through the eyes of students and professors at the University of Oakland. Professor Paola Leardini presented a development study of renovation and reconstruction of the built environment through different models of refurbishments and responses on their specific characteristics rather than using one -size-fits-all approach.
Marija Golubovic, LEED professional and president of the company “Energo” spoke about the role of all stakeholders during the design and construction process and during the period use of the buildings, the transparency and the willingness to review these actors to act responsibly at all phases of the building. Modern technology and experts can simulate and predict the behavior of the objects, but the question still exists on “how much is the practice of living in these facilities far from theoretical predictions?
On the other hand, in the opinion of architect Bostjan Vuga, from the studio “Sadar + Vuga” (Slovenia), the final users and the public nature of buildings hide an interesting theory of sustainability. The quality of “publicness” of each object claims the race for the population of ambient, which makes that the built environment, become a viable structure imbued with "living" areas.
Mirco Tardio from France and studio “DTA / DJURIC TARDIO ARCHITECTES” spoke about environmentally controlled density of the urban creation - the suburb that in each segment politely respects energy, nature and its users. The suburbs are designed according to the principle of environmental density opposite the disproportionate parasitic cities.
The last lecture on the conference was given by architect Milica Jovanovic-Popovic, the Professor at the Faculty of Architecture in Belgrade. She spoke about the study on energy efficiency and restoration of the residential built fund in Serbia and presented the current results of the study that showed a striking negative state of the existing housing stock with us. The project scope simulates the impact of increasing energy efficiency in buildings in a relation to the energy sector of the country. By applying various measures, the study showed options for creating a national strategy to reduce energy consumption and more rational approach to the management of natural resources.
The first expert International Conference S.ARCH was an important regional event of 2014. During the conference, a series of constructive discussions were conducted which raised some important issues regarding sustainable building practices. It can be rightly said that it was a festival of unique views and creations that celebrate and question architectural practice and its methods. Each visitor was clearly introduced to the problems of implementation of the principles of sustainability and the narrowness of contemporary architectural profession and the challenges ahead of the new generation of architects. In parallel, an international exhibition of works gave the opportunity young designers, students and professionals from reputable domestic and foreign architectural milieu to present their developments. Research, projects, studies and the results of experiments all showed the diversity of the spirit in search of a new, more advanced and more environmentally responsible buildings, urban spaces or theories.
Closing this year’s conference the organizers and the chairperson have announced a follow-up S.ARCH event with the theme of "Architecture and Environment" to be held on 19-20 May 2015 on the Adriatic Sea coast of Budva in Montenegro.
Source:
As the portal “SUPERPROSTOR” wrote, frankly, somehow arid scientific conference was expected, but a two-day expert event was conveyed, full packed with qualitative and various lectures with presentations, which made a departure from banal approach on heavily exploited theme on sustainability.
“Sustainability on the Other Way - Impression from the first S.ARCH Conference”,
Portal SUPERPROSTOR, Belgrade, 18.05.2014,
https://www.superprostor.com/odrzivost-na-drugi-nacin-konferencija-s-arch/11503
“S.ARCH Conference”,
Author: Mirjana Uzelac Filipendin, Magazine AMBIJENTI, Belgrade, 29.05.2014,
https://www.ambijenti.rs/s-arch-medunarodna-konferencija/
Source: GRAFT
Source: DTA / DJURIC TARDIO ARCHITECTES
Source: haas cook zemmrich STUDIO2050
Source: SADAR + VUGA
Source: enforma
Source: STUDIO NICOLETTI ASSOCIATI
Source: Energo
Source: MITarh architectural studio
Source: Ziegert | Roswag | Seiler
Next were the works of the French architect Philippe Rahm (France) who considers the climate itself as a new language and teaching method in architecture. Analysing the convection, evaporation and conduction Rahm has introduced new principles of modern constructions in which the right climatic factors of interior space guide the disposition and link the functions and ambient. Such approach Rahm calls Meteorological Architecture where the form and the function follow climate. The focus of creating transposed from strictly visual to the sensitive and almost invisible.
On the other hand, the architect Novakovic does it by the application of responsible architecture. "Responsive Architecture" is based on the relation ethic-aesthetic vis-a-vis the relations dialogue - responsibility. It is an architecture whose creator is an awakened professional, and his works are simply ethical and aesthetic response to the impacts of the natural environment. Novakovic is adjusting objects to landscape and to local culture.
Source: Philippe Rahm architectes
14-15 May 2014, Hyatt Regency Belgrade, Serbia
S.ARCH-2014
Sustainable Architecture
International Conference with Exhibition
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