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TEAM 1
Aug 7, 2014 23:23:08 GMT -6
Post by Nka on Aug 7, 2014 23:23:08 GMT -6
Nka Foundation Announces Jury Members for MUD HOUSE DESIGN 2014
Media Contact: Barthosa Nkurumeh, PhD info@nkafoundation.org / www.nkafoundation.org +1 (405) 819-4784
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MUD HOUSE DESIGN 2014 COMPETITION (Reinventing the African Mud Hut Together) Nka Foundation Announces Jury Members for MUD HOUSE DESIGN 2014 competition for Ghana. The jury consists of pre-selection jurors and grand jurors. The Pre-Selection Jury will review all design entries and select the overall Top 20 Designs and present them to the Grand Jury, who will then select the winning designs. The Jury session runs from September 15 - September 30, 2014. Those interested in participating in the competition can still register on www.eventbrite.com/e/mud-house-design-competition-tickets-10697036123 till August 15, 2014.
The grand jurors include Belinda van BUITEN, Director at FBW architects/African Architecture Matters at Utrecht (The Netherlands); Márcio Albuquerque BUSON, Professor of architecture and urbanism at the University of Brasilia (Brasil); Mariana CORREIA, Professor of Architecture at Escola Superior Gallaecia (Portugal); Toby CUMBERBATCH, Professor at The Cooper Union (New York); Ahmad HAMID, Principal founder, Ahmad Hamid Architects (Egypt); Rowland KEABLE, UNESCO Chair on Earthen Architecture and Director Rammed Earth Consulting CIC (UK); Bruno MARQUES, professor of the Faculty of Architecture and Arts, Oporto Lusíada University (Portugal); John QUALE, Director and Professor of Architecture at the the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning at Albuquerque (USA); Ronald RAEL, Professor of Architecture in the University of California at Berkeley in California (USA); and Humberto VARUM, Professor of Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (Portugal).
And the pre-selection jurors are Sara Alidadi, architect at Tehran (Iran); Juliet SAKYI-ANSAH, Probationer Architect with Ghana Institute of Architects at Accra (Ghana); Guido CIMADOMO, Professor of Architecture at the University of Malaga at Sevilla (Spain); Alina FERNANDES, architect at Lisbon (Portugal); Sarah LAISNEY, Programme Officer at UN-Habitat in Nairobi (Kenya); Luke MAHONY, director of Earth Dwellings Australia at Sydney (Australia); Rouben MOHIUDDIN, Professor of Interior Architecture California State University at Chico (USA); James PALMER, Environmental Designer at Perth (Australia); George KATODRYTIS, Professor of Architecture at the American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates); Robert van KATS, Architect with The Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa (DASUDA) in Amsterdam (The Netherlands); Roy KESROUANI, designer and architect at Los angeles in California (USA); Mara Sánchez LLORENS, Professor of Architecture in European University and Pontifician University of Salamanca at Madrid (Spain); Christof MAY, software architect at Karlsruhe (Germany); Niall O’CLEIRIGH, architectural designer from Dublin (Ireland); Diogo ROCHA, architect at Porto (Portugal); Tai SCHOMAKER, architect in Berlin (Germany); Veronika SCHRÖPFER, Project Officer at Architects' Council of Europe in Brussels (Belgium); Pritpal SINGH, Architect Transport & Infrastructure (Qatar); Wayne SWITZER, architect in Switzerland; and Xavier VILALTA, architect and designer at Barcelona (Spain).
IMPORTANT DATES Registration Deadline August 15, 2014 Submissions April 30-August 31, 2014 Press release on the winning projects, October 5, 2014 Design-build workshops to realize two of the winning designs, November 2014-July 2015 A traveling exhibition of all of the works received (schedule to be announced).
GRAND JURY Belinda van BUITEN, Director at FBW architects/African Architecture Matters at Utrecht (The Netherlands)
After her Masters Degree studies at TU-Delft, Belinda van Buiten worked in Dar es Salaam in Tanzania for L+ P architects and the Institute for Tropical Building. In 1990, she worked for Hubert-Jan Henket architects, where she worked during her studies. In 1992, in partnerships with Antoni Folkers en Geoffrey Wilks, she established FBW Architects with branches in Manchester, Dar es Salaam, Utrecht, Kampala and Kigali. Buiten was co-founder of ArchiAfrika (2001), which was in partnerships with Antoni Folkers, Berend van der Lans, Janneke Bierman en Joep Mol. Apart from her work in the FBW office, Buiten serves as a guest lecturer to various universities and schools for advanced education in the Netherlands. She has been president of Bouwnetwerk (2003-2005), a network for women active in the construction industry. Belinda van Buiten is a member of commissions for spatial quality.
Márcio Albuquerque BUSON, Professor of architecture and urbanism at the University of Brasilia (Brasil) Márcio Albuquerque Buson has been a professor of architecture and urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Brasilia in Brazil since 1990. He obtained MSc in Technology of Architecture and Urbanism at the University of Brasilia in 1998. He holds a PhD in Construction Technology from the University of Brasilia and with doctoral internship at the University of Aveiro, Portugal from 2006 to 2009. At the present, he is a professor of Construction Technology in the Department of Architecture and Urbanism of the FAU / UNB. Dr. Buson conducts research and works on earth architecture, sustainable and bioarchitecture building systems. His works operate on the following topics: construction, architecture, sustainability and architectural design.
Mariana CORREIA, Professor of Architecture at Escola Superior Gallaecia (Portugal)
Mariana Correia holds a PhD in Architecture and is the author of Vernacular Heritage and Earthen Architecture. She is a professor of ‘Theory and History of Conservation and Restoration on the Masters of Architecture and Urban Design at Escola Superior Gallaecia (ESG), a university in Vila Nova de Cerveira in Portugal. Prof. Correia is the President of the Board of Directors at ESG, and the Coordinator of the Masters Dissertations Unit at ESG. She is supervisor of PhD thesis and Master dissertations by national and international students. Correia is the Director of CI-ESG, Research Centre at ESG, and the Project Leader of the European Research Project ‘VerSus | Lessons from Vernacular Heritage to Sustainable Architecture’ that is funded by the Council of Europe. She is the Project Leader of the Scientific Research Project ‘SEISMIC-V | Vernacular Seismic Culture in Portugal’ funded by FCT-Foundation for Science and Technology in Portugal. Prof. Correia also served as the Portuguese coordinator of several Iberian-American, European, Iberian and National research projects. At the present, Correia is the General Coordinator of PROTERRA | Earthen Architecture Iberian-American Network with 115 experts from 18 countries. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of two Iberian Heritage Foundations: the Portuguese Foundation Convento da Orada and the Spanish Foundation Antonio Font de Bedoya. Correia is an International ICOMOS Consultant for the assessment of World Heritage Sites, concerning site missions and desk reviews. She is a Steering Committee Member of WHEAP – World Heritage Earthen Architecture Programme of UNESCO (2007-2017). She is a member of the Board of Directors of ICOMOS-ISCEAH (International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage), an expert member of ICOMOS-CIAV (International Scientific Committee on Vernacular Architecture), and the Portuguese Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair-Earthen Architecture and Sustainable Development.
Toby CUMBERBATCH, Professor at The Cooper Union (New York) Toby Cumberbatch was educated at The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology at Manchester in England. After gaining his doctorate he started work on the development of novel coating methods for II-VI thin film solar cells at the Thorn-EMI Central Research Laboratories in 1980. He extended this work at the University of Cambridge and then moved to the Interdisciplinary Research Center in Superconductivity to work on the deposition of superconducting oxide films. Dr. Cumberbatch emigrated to the USA in 1991. Dr. Cumberbatch has been teaching at The Cooper Union since 1994, as a member of the teaching staff at the Department of Electrical Engineering. He founded the Center for Sustainable Engineering, Art and Architecture - Materials, Manufacturing and Minimalism (SEA2M3) in 2005, which brings together students from the schools of Engineering, Art and Architecture to focus on problems that address the fundamental needs of energy, water and shelter in very poor communities in the less industrialized countries. Prof. Cumberbatch is a member of the adjunct faculty at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology at Kumasi in Ghana, and a visiting professor at the National University of Rwanda at Butare in Rwanda. Prof. Cumberbatch travels regularly to East and West African countries to research problems in underserved communities. From time to time, he takes students to Northern Ghana for projects related to energy and water audits, defluoridation filters, solar lighting systems, low energy housing and improved wood stoves.
Ahmad HAMID, Principal founder, Ahmad Hamid Architects (Egypt) Ahmad Hamid Worked with Hassan Fathy at the Institute of Appropriate Technology. Hamid then founded his own interdisciplinary office in Cairo, and pursued post graduate studies in Islamic art and architecture. He participated in the design team with Skidmore Owings & Merrill for the World Trade Center Cairo, and with the international group of consultants involved in the planning and architecture for Sadat City Egypt. Ahmad Hamid consulted in Germany, England, Switzerland, Malaysia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Abu Dhabi. Along with his office practice, he is teaching in several universities both local and abroad, on topics of art, industrial design, architecture, culture, sustainability, and Islam’s art and architecture. Receiving a Fulbright design study grant in Pratt Institute New York 2005/6, the 2010 and again the 2013 World Architecture Award. The Frank G. Wisner Award 2008. The Nadia Niazy Mustafa Award 2010, and his firm's website design was honored in 2011 with the American University Advertising Award. He designs several series of contemporary furniture, objects, textiles, and accessories and presents his work again and again in exhibitions. Ahmad Hamid acts as consultant to UNESCO and has served on several boards of international jurors; the11th annual Berkeley undergraduate prize 2009, and the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona 2010, and currently on the Nka foundation for the 'Mud House design competition 2014'. Hamid's design work has been featured in over 100 interviews and articles in eight languages. He is the author of the book: Hassan Fathy. Continuity in Islamic Art & Architecture: The Birth of a New Modern, 2010 AUC press.
Rowland KEABLE, UNESCO Chair on Earthen Architecture and Director Rammed Earth Consulting CIC (UK) Rowland Keable is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. Keable Keable is an honorary professor, UNESCO Chair on Earthen Architecture and Director of Rammed Earth Consulting CIC and Earth Building UK. Keable has worked with rammed earth technology since 1985. This includes building as a part of Passivhaus projects. Recently, this has included some local authority classrooms in Sussex and Lincolnshire where thermal and humidity loads are more of an issue than some domestic situations. We acted as consultants in each case, with the work being carried out very successfully by non-specialist contractors. Other work of Rammed Earth Consulting, www.rammedearthconsulting.com, includes the writing of construction codes and standards both in the UK and abroad, most recently in Africa. After the 15 countries of SADC voted to harmonise ‘Rammed Earth Code of Practice’ the African Regional Standards Organisation has agreed to harmonise the standard across the whole continent. We are also currently working on a European wide skills training standard to complement work already completed on training standards for earth plasters.
Bruno MARQUES, professor at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts in Oporto Lusíada University (Portugal) Bruno Gomes Marques completed his PhD in Architecture at Valladolid University in Spain in 2010, and earned another PhD in Civil Engineering from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Oporto in Portugal in 2011. His Masters degree was in Urban Planning from the Faculty of Architecture at University of Oporto. At the present, he is Professor and supervisor of Master dissertations on the Masters Degree program in Architecture and Urbanism at the Faculty of Architecture and Arts at Oporto Lusíada University. Dr. Marques was also the President of Centro de Estudos Africanos da Universidade do Porto - CEAUP from 2013 to 2014 and President of Núcleo de Arquitectos de Aveiro da Ordem dos Arquitectos - NAAV-OA from 2011 to 2014. He is researcher of CEAUP in the area of Sustained Economic Development in Africa on the topic of “Issues and projects of applied research: Applied research in Africa eco-development (architecture and urbanism)”. Since 2013, Dr. Marques conducted post-doctoral research on rammed earth and bamboo construction with bioclimatic approach in Africa. He has also developed research in the field of Civil Engineering, within a multidisciplinary research team, under the title: Energy Efficiency in Residential Buildings – From Theory to Practice.
John QUALE, Director and Professor of Architecture at the the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning at Albuquerque (USA) John Quale is Director and Professor of Architecture, at the the University of New Mexico School of Architecture + Planning at Albuquerque in New Mexico. From 2000 to 2014, he was on the faculty of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture and served as the Director of the Graduate Architecture program. Quale initiated and serves as Director of the ecoMOD / ecoREMOD project, an interdisciplinary effort to design, build and evaluate prefabricated and renovated housing units for affordable housing organizations. Quale also coordinated the award-winning 2002 UVA Solar Decathlon Team. He has received numerous awards, including the Architect Magazine R+D Award, the AIA Education Honor Award, the NCARB Grand Prize, the USGBC Excellence in Green Building Curriculum Award and finalist status for the UN World Habitat Award. Quale was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tokyo and the Thomas Jefferson Fellow at Cambridge University’s Downing College. Prof. Quale is the author of “Sustainable, Affordable, Prefab: the ecoMOD Project” and is also co-author of “OFFSITE: Constructing a Post Industrial Future,” forthcoming from Routledge in 2016. His work has been featured in various media outlets including CNN, HGTV, Metropolis, Architect Magazine, Architectural Record, Dwell, and The Washington Post. For four years, he was a project manager at Architecture Research Office (ARO), and also worked in several other architecture firms including Richard Meier & Partners, WG Clark Architect, and William McDonough & Partners. Quale is currently serving a three-year term on the U.S. Green Building Council’s Board of Directors. He has given a keynote and invited public lecture at various U.S. and international venues, including the National Building Museum, the Urban Center, and universities including Cambridge, Oxford, the Architectural Association, Oxford Brookes, Sheffield, Tokyo, Princeton, Cornell, Ohio State, Michigan and several others. Previously, he has served on the international jury for the Masdar Headquarters in Abu Dhabi, the AIA-COTE Top Ten Green Projects Award, the Modular Building Institute Awards of Distinction, the New York City “What If?“ Competition, the Fulbright Scholar Review Committee, and the UVA Faculty Teaching Award Committee.
Ronald RAEL, Professor of Architecture in the University of California at Berkeley in California (USA) Ronald Rael is an Associate Professor at the University of California at Berkeley with a joint appointment in the departments of Architecture and Art Practice. Prior to joining the faculty at Berkeley, he was the co-director of Clemson University’s Charles E. Daniel Center for Building Research and Urban Studies in Genova, Italy. Rael has been a member of the Design Faculty at the Southern California Institute of Architecture in Los Angeles, an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, and a Senior Instructor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He earned his Master of Architecture degree at Columbia University in the City of New York, where he was the recipient of the William Kinne Memorial Fellowship. Since 2003, Rael has been running eartharchitecture.org, which in 2009 was ranked among the top 20 most important blogs on architecture worldwide. Prof. Rael is the author of Earth Architecture (Princeton Architectural Press, 2008) -a history of building with earth in the modern era to exemplify new, creative uses of the oldest building material on the planet. His creative practice, Rael San Fratello, established in 2002 with Virginia San Fratello, is an internationally recognized award-winning studio whose work lies at the intersection of architecture, art, culture, and the environment.
Humberto VARUM, Professor of Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (Portugal) Humberto Varum is full professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto in Portugal. Prior to this, he was associate professor at the Civil Engineering Department of the University of Aveiro in Portugal, where he taught from 1997 to 2014. Prof. Varum holds a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of Aveiro. Earlier, he concluded a Master's Degree in Structures of Civil Engineering and a degree in Civil Engineering both from the University of Porto in Portugal. Prof. Varum has an extensive experience in research on the structural and seismic performance of rammed earth architecture and coordinates several international research teams on adobe and rammed earth buildings. His main research interests include assessment, strengthening and repair of structures, structural health monitoring, structural testing and modelling, earthquake engineering and structural dynamics, earth construction rehabilitation and seismic strengthening. He was a grant-holder and temporary agent at the ELSA laboratory, Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Italy, for three years, where he developed research on earthquake assessment and rehabilitation of existing structures. He has supervised Master and PhD studies in the field of structural characterization and seismic retrofitting of structures. He has co-authored over 400 publications in international peer reviewed scientific journals, books and conference proceedings, in the fields of earthquake engineering, assessment and strengthening of structures, and earth construction rehabilitation.
PRESELECTION JURY Sara ALIDADI, architect at Tehran (Iran) Sara Alidadi is an Iranian architect, living and working as a designer and freelancer with Fortuna Construction Company. She received her BA in architecture from the Technical University in Berlin in Germany. She did further studies in architecture at London Southbank University and received Professional Diploma (RIBA2) from University of East London in the UK. Prior to her return to Iran, Alidadi worked with MDR-Associates in London, where she has worked on several multi-functional housing projects in and around London. At AAK- Architekten in Berlin she worked at several projects in health and public sector. Working in Graft-lab in Berlin, she was selected to work at a project in gastronomy sector in Marrakech, where she gained a more practical approach on building with earth. Alidadi is organizing "Earth Architecture" workshop involving “Knowing-Doing Earth Architecture” which was in partnerhips with the University of East London (Rowland Keable, Christoph Hadrys) and University of Tehran. Sara Alidadi's work involves also a research about Iranian Vernacular Architecture, particularly building with Earth. She is translating and gathering books on Rammed Earth and is preparing a draft of "Rules, Regulations & Standards on Building with Earth".
Juliet SAKYI-ANSAH, Probationer Architect with Ghana Institute of Architects at Accra (Ghana) Juliet Sakyi-Ansah earned BA and MArch in Architecture from the University of Sheffield in the UK. Miss Sakyi-Ansah fulfils her social responsibilities by contributing to causes such as the Architecture for Humanity’s Crisis Bermondsey Project (2012) and the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust Design Exhibition (2012). Aspiring to acquire, create, apply, and share knowledge and design in the built environment, she focuses on both the research and the practice of architecture. Sakyi-Ansah founded The Architects’ Project in 2013, which is an autonomous initiative to boost the education and practice of architecture in local contexts with global agenda. Her contributions to research and teaching activities at academic institutions include architecture conferences such as the Production of Place 2012 held at University of East London’s School of Architecture, Computing and Engineering and ECOLOGY Theory Forum 2009 which was held at the School of Architecture at the University of Sheffield. At the prsent, Miss Sakyi-Ansah is practicing architecture at Arch Xenus and The Architects’ Project in Accra.
Annalisa CAIMI, architect at Geneva (Switzerland) Annalisa Caimi is an architect working on the promotion of vernacular building cultures as learning source to develop sustainable, culturally-appropriate and resilient ways of building, with a particular focus on disaster-prone areas. Since her Masters degree at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology of Lausanne-EPFL, she has been working on construction with local materials, especially bamboo and earth. In 2010, she obtained a specialised post-master’s degree in Earthen Architecture at CRAterre-ENSAG, International Centre for Earth Construction –UNESCO chair (France). She holds a PhD in Architecture from the University of Grenoble (France) concerning a research on disaster-resilient vernacular building cultures. She has been working as architect consultant in Bangladesh, Cameroon, Haiti, India, Indonesia and the Philippines in collaboration with local and international stakeholders (such as Caritas and Red Cross - Red Crescent networks), associating research and action to strengthen local capacities through community-based approaches, training and awareness-raising activities as well as the enhancement of local knowledge, resources and know-how.
Guido CIMADOMO, Professor of Architecture at the University of Malaga at Sevilla (Spain) Guido Cimadomo attained his first degree in architecture from the Polytechnic University of Milan in Italy in 1998. Cimadomo received his PhD from the Univeristy of Seville in 2014 in Architectural History and Theory. At the present, he teaches in the department of Architectural Composition at the University of Malaga; the course he teaches include Architecture and Technology issues at the fifth year. Cimadomo is the Academic Coordinator for International Mobility and coordinator of the online course, “Writing Architecture: path-lines and criteria”. Cimadomo is an expert member of the ICOMOS scientific committee CIPA for the documentation of Cultural Heritage and an active member of the Forum UNESCO University & Heritage. His essays on cultural heritage, industrial heritage, architecture, and related fields have been published in journals and in edited volumes in diverse countries. As a registered architect, Cimadomo engages in the design of sport and cultural facilities, and the documentation and rehabilitation of heritage buildings such as Nicaragua colonial heritage and Morocco rammed-earth buildings.
Alina FERNANDES, architect at Lisbon (Portugal) Alina Jeronimo Fernandes received her Masters degree in Architecture from the Lusíada University at Lisbon in 2004, and began her professional career in rehabilitation of “Post-Pombalino" buildings in Lisbon City Hall, where she supervised construction works in wattle and daub techniques and anti-seismic structures. In 2007 Fernandes went on to Barcelona to work on projects in different architecture studios. During this period, Fernandes began to research sustainable architecture in partnerships with Paulo Carneiro on projects in line with sustainable design principles and earth architecture Technologies. This was the basis for her graduate studies with focus on "Earth Architecture - Constructive Cultures and Sustainable Development" at CRATerre Institute, France. In collaboration with Architecture for Humanity, Fernandes researched vernacular and sustainable architecture in informal settlements in Mozambique, which enabled her to work in a small community in Manica, Mozambique. The project invovled the local communities in CEBS production with a goal of improving the local construction techniques in the direction of creating awareness for low environmental impact trend. Fernandes returned to Lisbon in May 2013, and began to work on rehabilitation of old buildings as a way of continuing her research on sustainable processes by use of ecological and local materials.
Sarah LAISNEY, Programme Officer at UN-Habitat in Nairobi (Kenya) Sarah Laisney is an architect and planner, currently living and working in Kenya, in her capacity as a Programme Officer for UN-Habitat's Housing and Slum Upgrading Branch. Ms. Laisney holds a Master of Architecture from Université de Montréal. In parallel to her architectural education, she pursued a post-graduate diploma in Modern Heritage at UQAM and a second one in Urban Management for the Developing Countries from Université de Montréal. With a professional approach directed towards community-based initiatives, Laisney has worked as an architect and consultant in urban planning for award-winning firms and international organisations since 2008. Her academic experience includes positions as a research associate, publications, international conferences and international development management. Her areas of interest include self-help housing, philanthropic architecture, low-cost housing, sustainable urban development and informal urbanity.
Luke MAHONY, architect and director of Earth Dwellings Australia at Sydney (Australia) Luke Mahony is the director of Earth Dwellings Australia, www.earthdwellings.com.au. We have experience in many aspects of earth building; at the present, the focus of our work is on rammed earth construction. To encourage the effective use of thermal properties of rammed earth, we provide thermal performance assessments through the computer simulation of building designs under the Australian House Energy ratings scheme (NatHERS). We are partnering with the University of Western Australia and the WA dept of housing in a Research Council grant to investigate the thermal performance of rammed earth housing for indigenous public housing. Luke Mahony is an active member of the Earth Builders Association of Australia. Majony is also involved with the Jack Thompson Foundation, www.jackthompsonfoundation.com in projects to provide earth housing to remote indigenous homelands in Australia. Mahony’s passion is to make high performance earth dwellings desirable to the people who need it the most. Luke Mahony is an advocate of open source house design and hopes to bring some thermal performance knowledge to the pre-selection jury in what is a technically difficult climatic zone.
Rouben MOHIUDDIN, Professor of Interior Architecture California State University at Chico (USA) Rouben Mohiuddin’s work explores design and construction/ fabrication methodology by incorporating sustainable programming and the use of alternative building materials. At the mere age of three, his father took him on a 17-year journey to North Africa, Asia and Europe.This journey instilled in him with a bounty of diversity, which influenced what would become a life long appreciation for art, architecture and design. Mohiuddin earned an undergraduate degree in Architecture and Environmental Design (1995) and has a Masters Degree in architecture from the Southern California Institute of Architecture (1997). His architectural education was a trans-disciplinary education that integrated the arts, sciences, and the humanities through creative and analytical thinking and development. Mohiuddin started his design career at influencial firms in Los Angeles and New York, specializing in custom residential projects and products. In 2002, he established Design SI, www.designsi.net. Although driven by the practice of design, he has always been inspired by the notion of ‘giving back’ through pro-bono community projects and has served as an educator at the University of California at Los Angeles, Otis School of Art and Design, New York School of Interior Design, and The Art Institute of California. At the present, Mohiuddin is an Assistant Professor of Interior Architecture at California Sate University at Chico.
James PALMER, Environmental Designer at Perth (Australia) James Palmer grew up on a farm in the remote and rugged South Coast of Western Australia, in a spongalite block house, surrounded by unique Australian bush and farm land. Moving to Perth, 600km away from his home, Palmer studied architecture at the University of Western Australian and graduated with a degree of Bachelor in Environmental Design in 2013. Upon graduation, Palmer enrolled for Master of Architecture on the same Faculty of Architecture, Landscape and Visual Arts in The University of Western Australia, which allowed him to study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as an exchange student. In May 2014, in conjunction with Nka Foundation, James headed a team of local and international architecture students to design and construct a kindergarten building for the Abetenim Primary School at Abetenim in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. James spent two months in Abetenim village. Living and working on the building project with his team alongside the local villagers, proffered the unique opportunity to immerse and experience the Ghanaian ways of building and living.
George KATODRYTIS, Professor of Architecture at American University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) George Katodrytis is an architect involved in practice, teaching and research. He is an Associate Professor in the College of Architecture, Art and Design at the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. Katodrytis studied and taught at the Architectural Association in London and he has been a visiting professor at various schools around the world. Katodrytis worked in Paris, London, Nicosia and Dubai. He has built a numerous projects in Europe and the Middle East and has published widely on contemporary architecture, urbanism, cultural theory and digital media. Katodrytis’s work addresses the ‘city’, especially as it is evolving in the 21st century. In his work, he employs digital technology and scripting as tools for establishing new formal and performative language and fabrication in architecture. Prof. Katodrytis is also involved in a series of design projects in territories of limited resources that include children’s homes, schools and refugee camps.
Robert van KATS, Architect with The Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa (DASUDA) in Amsterdam (The Netherlands) Robert van Kats is co-founder and architect partner of Blok Kats van Veen architects (BKVV). BKVV is established by Dieter Blok, Robert Kats and Sander van Veen. The headoffice is located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The office acts on the business, governmental, NGO and private market both national and international with a specific focus on the African market specialised in sustainable architecture, urban planning, master planning, urban design, and building related energy concepts. The main speciality is SPATIAL ENERGY DESIGN. BKVV introduced the concept 'Spatial Energy Design' which became a design methodology for architecture to create buildings that are comfortable but with a extreme low energy demand and a high level of self sufficiency. A shared vision based on physics via the integration of engineering, economics, culture, climate and architecture for the production of contemporary and sustainable architecture. We transfer ideas into a concrete spatial design and bring this to realisation. A selection of projects are the Sustainable University Campus Mouila Gabon icw Maïssa architectures (Ministry of Education), Ramses Park Cairo (National Organization for Urban Harmony), Sustainable Low Cost Butterfly Housing South Africa and Nigeria, Hospice Chipata Zambia (Chipata Foundation), Lofthome®, the Sustainable CO2 neutral Bridge Control Centre for the province of South-Holland, the Spatial Energy Design Study for passive cooling for buildings in South Sudan (USAID/ Aecom International), the Makoko Floating School Lagos Nigeria (icw NLÉ, Kunlé Adeyemi), Wingfield Urban Development Cape Town South Africa (Tyger Design Lab/ DASUDA), Kaloleni Urban Development Nairobi Kenya (County of Nairobi/ University of Nairobi/ DASUDA). Robert van Kats is co-founder of the foundation DASUDA, Dutch Alliance for Sustainable Urban Development in Africa. Robert van Kats is the Chairman of DASUDA. Kats is Board member BNA International at the Royal Institute of Dutch Architects and Member of the Scientific Committee for the International Union of Architects World Congress August 2014 Durban South Africa.
Roy KESROUANI, designer and architect at Los angeles in California (USA) Roy Kesrouani is an American-Lebanese designer and architect. While attending the Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) for a Master’s degree in Architecture, Kesrouani heard Nader Khalili talk about using clay and fire to build structures into one single ceramic unit. Immediately, Kesrouani knew he wanted to join Khalili at Cal-Earth in the California desert to build earth home prototypes. Khalili became Kesrouani’s mentor, thesis advisor and prompted Kesrouani to go back to Lebanon with a mission to decipher and revive earth architecture. Kesrouani went on to present earth architecture on Lebanese television and participate in the 22nd Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture in Beirut (PLEA 2005) with the project, “I Wear the Mountain”. Kesrouani’s vision of a sustainable architecture is not a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification for plain energy efficiency. It is, rather, architecture of a specific environment. Kesrouani goes further to insist that built structures are images of the universe. For example, an igloo is an Inuit’s extension with its central block coinciding with the world axis just as the square Arab courtyard is an echo of paradise exposed to celestial influences. Kesrouani’s aim is the pursuit of that natural given right or expansion of being! Residing in Los Angeles since 2006, Kesrouani’s focus has been on challenging the single family archetype and redefining the everyday common objects.
Mara Sánchez LLORENS, Professor of Architecture in European University and Pontifician University of Salamanca at Madrid (Spain) Mara Sánchez Llorens has developed her professional career by combining research, teaching and architectural practice. She earned her PhD in Architectural Design Criticism. Dr. Llorens is an architect and serves as a professor of design studios in Architecture at UPSAM, Universidad Europea in Madrid and Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Barcelona. Prior to these academic appointments, she taught at the ETSA de Madrid and the Facultad de Arquitectura, Paisaje y Diseño de Rosario in Argentina. She has been collaborating with FRPO Rodriguez & Oriol Architecture Landscape in Madrid since 2008. In 2011, Dr. Llorens was the adjunct curator of the exhibition series on the history of building materials that accompanied the Columbia University conferences on Architecture, Engineering and Materials: Plastic Chains at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Llorens participates in Cooperation Programs with the Spanish Agency for International Development (AECID) in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and is a regular speaker in congresses such as ArquitectAs, Critic/All or Encuentros Transatlánticos: discursos vanguardistas en España y Latinoamérica. Mara Llorens was responsible for the restoration of the Mosque of Cordoba (Spain) and contributed to architecture competitions such as Bio Istambul “Serpentine Promenade”(Istanbul, 2012), Social Housing “Nuestra Señora de los Angeles”, Madrid (EMV, 2011), Nursery School “Las Cárcavas”, Madrid (2009), Nabia Hotel in Candeleda (2008), New promenade, Conil de la Frontera and UIA Barcelona 1996.
Christof MAY, software architect at Karlsruhe (Germany) Christof May is a software architect and innovation counselor working as an independant consultant. Originally, he studied mechanical engineering at the Cooperative State University Mosbach, Germany. Christof May was born in Germany in 1965 and lives in Karlsruhe with his wife and two sons. He spent however many years abroad, particularly in Italy, Venezuela and Switzerland. He speaks German, English, Spanish, Italian, and some French. May is member of the FabLab Karlsruhe (http://fablab-karlsruhe.de/), and is interested in technology, art and design, innovation strategies, open/collaborative economy, and foreign cultures. He recently launched the House5K project, which has the aim of bringing together traditional building methods particularly rammed earth and modern 3D printing technology, with the aim of providing affordable and sustainable housing for developing countries. For further details of the project refer to the whitepaper at files.meetup.com/14129452/House5K_Whitepaper.pdf.
Niall O’CLEIRIGH, architectural designer from Dublin (Ireland) Niall O’Cleirigh is architectural designer and technologist from Dublin, Ireland. O’Cleirigh's interests involve vernacular architecture and bioclimatic design. He does these by investigating how designers can learn from vernacular architecture and traditional materials to genrate energy efficient and sustainable solutions in response to local climate and architectural context. O’Cleirigh has been for the past few years working in architecture in Japan by researching vernacular architecture for renovation and re-purposing traditional townhouses. Prior to this, he worked in Ireland and the UK on low energy retrofit projects. At present, O’Cleirigh is working with the Nka Foundation and will lead a design-build workshop in November 2014 involving Ashanti vernacular architecture to lend to the development of a contemporary earth architecture tradition for the region.
Diogo ROCHA, architect at Porto, (Portugal) Diogo Rocha is a Porto based architect, who is is open to challenging and ambitious projects in multicultural environments because seeing and experiencing different places is a part of the development of an architect. Rocha graduated from the Faculty of Architecture at the University of Porto in Portugal with a Masters degree in Architecture in December 2013. Rocha base his practice on knowledge and skill acquired at the School of Architecture of the University of Porto, and field experience at international programs such as "A roof for my country". His evolving practice is about creating architecture that is sensitive to the socio-economic climate and augments spatial experiences, while engaging the community in critical discourse. In September 2013, was invited by the Portuguese Cultural Department to make a project to intervene in Portugal’s first castle in Guimarães, which is now under construction. In January 2014, Diogo founded Extrude3dPrinting, a research group that investigates the use of digital design and manufacturing technologies in architecture. In March 2014, he joined a local architecture firm, Rodapé Arquitectos, where he is now employed as a project architect and works on conceptual and development of projects.
Tai SCHOMAKER, an architect in Berlin (Germany) Tai Manu Nova Schomaker is an architect and city planner living and working in Berlin. He founded DoYouSpace.net that deals with sustainable and environmental topics, mixing high-tech solutions with traditional common sense. Schomaker is a member of the FarOuest design network, which is known for urban competitions that focus on strategies for better social and environmental integration. FarOuest also develop hybrid designs drawing on the dialogical relations between tradition and contemporaneity. Schomaker shares this approach with offices, such as the Jewish Museum Fürth for HSH Architektur and international competitions for Zvi Hecker, renowned for his inspirations from Arabic traditional architecture in designs for the Jewish community. Yet, Schomaker has an interest in traditional built environments such as on the University of Paris. Therein, he got to understand the environmental and bio-climatic qualities of the mountain villages he grew up in the Alps and Himalaya. He took part in the IASTE 2012 conference on global issues about traditional and contemporary design practice in developing countries. Since 2013, Schomaker has been collborating with the Nka Foundation on optimizing the mud house building process with laterite in the Ashanti region of Ghana.
Veronika SCHRÖPFER, Project Officer at Architects' Council of Europe in Brussels (Belgium) Veronika Schröpfer holds a Diploma in Architecture and a Master of Engineering in Real Estate Economics and Facilities Management both from Germany. She undertook her PhD in Real Estate and Construction Management at the Oxford Brookes University, UK. Dr. Schröpfer possesses five -years of work experience in different sectors of the built environment, from small independent architecture practices to global blue chip groups in Europe and the US. Her expertise is on a broad range of sustainability issues in the built environment and knowledge management. As the project officer of the Architects' Council of Europe, Dr. Schröpfer works on EU funded research projects on energy efficiency in buildings, such as LEEMA, iNSPiRe and A2PBEER.
Pritpal SINGH, Architect Transport & Infrastructure (Qatar) Pritpal Singh is transport architecture professional with more than fifteen years experience in different domains across continents. Singh has experience of virtual design and construction in compliance with international design, production and documentation standards. He earned his Masters of Science degree from the School of Environmental Studies in 2011. His expertise extends the core skills and covers areas such as 2D, 3D and 4D information modelling, project management, six sigma, green buildings, sustainability and innovation. Singh is passionate about value engineering, sustainable built environment and carbon footprinting. He fulfils his social responsibility by serving on projects with high social values meant to achieve Millennium Development Goals. At the present, Singh is doing collaborative reasearch on vernacular architecture and runs an online vernacular architecture community.
Wayne SWITZER, architect in Switzerland Wayne Switzer is a trained architect who has worked professionally in Europe and the United States. In 2012, he participated in the 10x10 Shelter Challenge at Abetenim in Ghana. Together with his wife Karolina, they planned and participated in building a small pavilion constructed of rammed earth over the course of 6 weeks. The team of 7 consisted of members of the Abetenim community. Following his time in Ghana, Wayne began working in Switzerland for the Austrian earthen building consultant Martin Rauch and the firm Lehm Ton Erde. The firm is known for the fabrication and execution of contemporary rammed earthen projects, specifically pre-fabricated elements and avoiding the use of any stabilising additives to the earthen mixture (i.e.: no cement). Here, Wayne played a key role in the production and construction of the Ricola Herbal Center (completed in spring of 2014) and the Sempach Bird Observatory (to be completed in at the end of 2014). In the fall of this year, he will undertake teaching a studio of sustainable earthen construction at the ETH Zürich, led by Martin Rauch and Anna Heringer.
Xavier VILALTA, architect and designer at Barcelona (Spain) Xavier Vilalta is the founder and director of Vilalta Arquitectura. Despite his youth, he is already a distinguished international architect specializing in sustainability. His work combines innovative technology with local resources and culture to create contemporary designs that suit their environment. Before his firm gained eminence, he was an associate professor at ETSAB, Barcelona School of Architecture of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, where he taught design studios and mentored diploma projects. Various institutions worldwide have recognized his innovation in the architectural field. Among his awards is the Young Architect of the Year at the LEAF Awards 2008. In 2011, Vilalta became a TED Fellow, becoming the first in the Spaniard to receive this award and be a lecturer at the annual conference in California. He has been invited to lecture at events such as TED Global in Scotland, Fundaçao Galouste Gulbenkian in Portugal, and Commercial Real Estate Week in Kazakhstan. Vilalta has also collaborated with global brands such as Porsche Automobil and Oliberte Footwear as a keynote speaker and brand ambassador.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________ Nka Foundation-Ghana Certificate of Incorporation No. G-30,661 Frank Appiah Kubi| Community Coordinator | Ghana + 0246422934|
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