Lectures

Benedetta Tagliabue studied architecture at the Istituto di Architettura di Venezia (IUAV) and currently acts as director of the international architecture firm Miralles Tagliabue EMBT, founded in 1994 in collaboration with Enric Miralles, based in Barcelona, Shanghai and Paris. Among her most notable projects built are the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Diagonal Mar Park, the Santa Caterina market in Barcelona, Campus Universitario de Vigo, and the Spanish Pavilion at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo which was awarded the prestigious RIBA International “Best International Building of 2011” award. Current studio projects include the Business School of Fudan University in Shanghai, office…

Ajmona Hoxha is an architect engaged with projects in urbanism and public space. Engaged since 2016 with 51N4E, a Brussel-based practice and the daughter company iRI based in Tirana, she acts as a project lead for a series of public space projects, among which the recently awarded as the ‘Best European Public Space’, as well as finalists of ‘Mies van der Rohe Award 2019’, central plaza of Skanderbeg Square. Over the years she has worked in a variety of contexts such as Tirana, Istanbul, Brussels, with a focus in projects with public character, reflecting her personal interest for cross- cultural…

Shpend Ahmeti  was born on April 18, 1978, in Pristina. He graduated in master studies in Public Policies at Harvard University, USA, during the years 2002-2004, specializing in Economic and Political Development. He has completed university studies in Economics and Business Administration at the American University in Bulgaria, during the years 1996-2000, specializing in Applied Economics and Business Administration. During the studies between the years 1999-2002, Mr. Ahmeti was senator and then the President of the Student Government at American University in Bulgaria, as well as leader of various communities (from more than ten countries) through the period of reforms…

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 partner 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, Carlo has co-authored over 500 publications, including “The City of Tomorrow” (Yale University Press, with Matthew…

For his contributions to architecture as an art, Nader Tehrani is the recipient of the American Academy of Arts and Letters’ 2020 Arnold W. Brunner Memorial Prize. Nader Tehrani is the Dean of the Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture at the Cooper Union in New York. He was previously a professor of architecture at MIT, where he served as the Head of the Department from 2010-2014. He is also Principal of NADAAA, a practice dedicated to the advancement of design innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and an intensive dialogue with the construction industry. Tehrani received a B.F.A. and a B.Arch from…

Beatrice Galilee is a curator, critic and cultural consultant specializing in the field of contemporary architecture and design. Beatrice is internationally recognised for her worldwide experience in curating, designing and conceiving original and dynamic city-wide biennales, museum exhibitions, installations, conferences, events and publications, bringing together the world’s most important institutions with cutting edge practitioners. Her research and writing has been published in journals, newspapers and magazines. She is the founder and executive director of The World Around, a New York-based conference and platform for cultural discourse whose critically acclaimed first event took place in January 2020. Between 2014-2019, Beatrice was the first…

Justin Garrett Moore is an urban designer and the executive director of the New York City Public Design Commission. He has extensive experience in urban design and city planning—from large-scale urban systems, policies, and projects to grassroots and community-focused planning, design, and arts initiatives. At the Public Design Commission, his work is focused on prioritizing the quality and excellence of the public realm, and fostering accessibility, diversity, and inclusion in the City’s public buildings, spaces, and art. As the former Senior Urban Designer for the NYC Department of City Planning for over a decade, Justin was responsible for conducting complex urban design plans…

Elian Stefa​ (1985), is an Albanian-Canadian architect,​ curator, ​and multidisciplinary artist ​based in Tirana,​ Albania. He currently directs ​GALERiA e BREGDETiT,​ an independent art space in Radhimë, in the south of Albania. After completing his studies in Landscape Architecture at the Polytechnic of Milan, his dissertation project “​Concrete Mushrooms”​ was published as a book by DPR-Barcelona, and the eponymous documentary film was screened at several international film festivals and competitions including, also winning 1st prize in the film category of Arup’s “Drivers of Change” Prize in 2011. The project went on to participate at the Albanian pavilion of the 13th Architecture Biennale in Venice, 2012. Since then Stefa…

Platon is an architect, researcher and educator. He is currently Director of Projective Cities: MPhil in Architecture and Urban Design programme at the Architectural Association, where he is also Diploma Unit 7 Studio Master developing a project on the North Sea together with Hamed Khosravi. Prior, he has been a Tutor/Visiting Lecturer at the School of Architecture/RCA (MA Architecture, MA City Design), and a Visiting Lecturer at the Department of Architecture, University of Westminster. He has also taught at the Berlage Institute/Rotterdam, the MArch Urban Design/Bartlett-UCL, the University of Cyprus, and Syracuse University, London Program. Since 2009, Platon, Alexandra Vougia and…

Eliza Hoxha is an architect, graduated at University of Prishtina, Kosovo. In 2006 she finished her postgraduate studies at Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium with focus on Architecture of Human Settlements. Currently she is a PhD candidate at Technical University of Graz in Austria. She is an author of the book “City and Love” an urban diary about the city of Prishtina published in Albanian 2013 and in English 2019. Kosovar Women Network awarded her in 2013 for promoting women’s right in Kosovo. At the same year she was awarded from National AmericanAlbanian Council /USAID – Hope Fellowship Program…