Open Lectures

Cancelled!

On May 31, at 11 AM Sofia Nannini will present a lecture “The mechanization of life: Histories, architecture, and paradoxes of intensive animal farming” in room A-403.

The zootechnical buildings of animal farming are everywhere and, paradoxically, they seem to be nowhere. Also, they are often perceived as anonymous and timeless. Yet, we may ask: How did the architecture of intensive animal farming develop since the late nineteenth century? This talk will briefly explore its geographical and institutional origins, and it will critically analyse the spatial, social, and ethical paradoxes on which the animal-industrial complex is grounded.

The lecture is intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

Sofia Nannini is an Assistant Professor in architectural history at the Politecnico di Torino. She is author of “Icelandic Farmhouses: Identity, Landscape and Construction (1790-1945)” (Firenze University Press, 2023) and of “The Icelandic Concrete Saga: Architecture and Construction (1847–1958)” (Jovis, 2024). She is currently working on a book project tentatively entitled “The Mechanization of Life: An Architectural History of Intensive Animal Farming”.

NART OPEN LECTURE IN EKA 3/3 – Kristiin Hanimägi and Joel Freeman
21 May at 17.45
Põhja pst 7 room A-501, EKA, Tallinn

The third and final NART open lecture this season will be on May 21. It will be by Kristiin Hanimägi (EST) and Joel Freeman (USA). Kristiin is an experimental photographer living in Tallinn where she works at the National Heritage Board of Estonia as an archivist. Joel is an artist and art worker living in Los Angeles, California. Together, they work as a duo and in Narva they research collective memory by offering locals to engage with camera obcuras.

Artists-in-residence from the Narva Art Residency give semi-regular public lectures at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. They talk about the practicalities of being a professional artist, what the daily life of an art residency is like, and how to get involved in the opportunities offered to artists. Of course, they also introduce their creative work.

The final lecture this spring takes place on Tuesday, 21 May at 17.45. It will be in EKA (Põhja pst 7) in room A.501 on the fifth floor. The lecture is free of charge and open to all! The lecture will be held in English.

In connection with African business forum in Estonia renowned Angolan fashion designer Nadir Tati will give a public lecture in EKA on Wednesday May 22 in room A501 at 17:00

Nadir Tati is a leading figure in contemporary African fashion. As a champion of African customs and traditions she delves into the depths of African heritage, blending the past with the present and the future, exploring its vibrant colours, intricate patterns, and lush texture, revealing the essence of the continent.

Her work is characterized by a contemporary approach to traditional artisanal techniques with modern and innovative designs, reinventing Africa’s iconic patterns, such as wax print and kente. Vital to her work is the use of materials and production practices that respect the environment and local communities.

Nadir has been awarded the Best Designer in Angola in 2010, 2011, and 2012. She has also received various other honours for contribution to national culture and for excellence in business and industry, as well as awards for representing Angola on the world’s runways.

Kaarel Kurismaa. Beyond the Limits of Timelessness
Documentary
59 min
Estonia 2024

A documentary about the Estonian artist Kaarel Kurismaa shows the viewer an insight into the world of artists.

Kaarel Kurismaa laid the foundations for Estonian kinetic and sound art. He is a highly versatile artist whose creative energy is divided between painting, sound, installation, monumental art, and film. Kaarel has changed his creative direction several times; he has explored different artistic styles. 

On the crest of the avant-garde wave of the 1970s, he created several important sound and kinetic objects in Estonian art history. From the mid-1970s, Kurismaa worked as an artist, director, and cinematographer at Eesti Joonisfilm and Nukufilm. In the 1980s, Kurismaa became more interested in making space and monumental art. He created a number of remarkable public space objects that synthesised the key elements of his work – sound and movement. Only one of these objects has survived to this day – the Tallinn tram.

The 1990s marked another turning point in Kurismaa’s work. Sound objects inspired by pop art aesthetics were replaced by contemporary site-specific space and sound installations.

The film features friends and colleagues of Kaarel Kurismaa: Tiit Pääsuke, Tamara Luuk, Olga Temnikova, Ragne Soosalu, Sirje Helme, Andres Kurg and Kiwa, who share their experiences and talk about their collaboration with the artist. We can see unique archival footage and private archive photographs, get a glimpse of the work of various artists, and follow the process of creating art. 

Director: Aljona Suržikova

Producer: Sergei Trofimov

diafilm.ee

Ukrainian designer Pavlo Stepanenko is invited by EKA New Media department to give a talk about fighting games in room B305:

“As for me, this kind of interactivity between people, often presented as a conflict in a negative light, is not always so. I would like to invite you to discuss the genre of video games, which, for me, helps solve this problem.”

Place EKA room B-305 Time: 17:00

FB 

he Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

On May 2, Lara Almarcegui will present in the EKA hall a lecture “Construction Rubble, Wastelands and Mining Rights: who owns the ground and who can extract it”.

The work of Lara Almarcegui poses questions about the current state of the construction, development, use, and decay of spaces that are apparently peripheral to the city. In her large- scale projects she provokes a dialogue between the different elements that make up the physical reality of the urban landscape, in its constant transformation through demolitions, excavations, construction materials, and contemporary ruins.

Reflecting on extraction for the production of space, the raw material installations by Lara Almarcegui underline the relation between the constructed, the city, who owns its geology and the ground where it is settled. To highlight the large volumes involved and the materiality of the built environment, Almarcegui made piles of the gravel extracted each day by a quarry in the city of Basel, 1 000 tons. (project commissioned by Creative Time, Messe Basel, 2018). Inventories of construction materials were carried out to analyse the origins of the built environment: Sâo Paolo is built out of 446 million tons of concrete (Sâo Paulo Biennial 2006). M+ in Hong Kong, one of the most recent major museum projects, is made of 168 938 tons of gravel. 

Who owns ground and resources and who has the right to extract them? Legally, natural resources are publicly owned, but governments can grant them to mining companies in the form of exploration or extraction rights. As part of the inquiry on underneath ownership and who has the right to exploit these natural resources, Almarcegui has been acquiring exploration rights (Mineral Rights, Graz, 2015-ongoing). Tveitvangen, nearby Oslo, (2015-ongoing), the exploration mineral rights extend over an area of one square kilometre, and reach from the subsoil down to the centre of the earth.

Lara Almarcegui’s artistic practice explores the material aspects of land and urban space. She has worked in different cities, identifying abandoned, unused, or forgotten sites and examining the contemporary transformation processes brought about by social, political, and economic change. In recent years, Almarcegui has turned her attention to construction sites, in particular the composite materials used in the construction of new buildings and the cyclical relationship between land and architecture. Almarcegui represented Spain at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013).

The lectures are intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

All lectures are held on Thursdays at 6 pm in the EKA main auditorium. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

Schedule of the spring lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui

Within the framework of a series of open lectures, the Faculty of Architecture of EKA presents a dozen unique practitioners and valued theorists in the field in Tallinn every academic year. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

The lecture series is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

The Open Lecture series of the EKA Faculty of Architecture will take place in the spring of 2024 under the general title Unlearning.

The lecture series aims to engage with values, imaginaries and systems of knowledge that shape the contemporary fields of architecture and urbanism. Unlearning is coordinated by Maroš Krivý, professor of Urban Studies.

According to Gayatri Spivak, for example, unlearning concerns not only what is said, but also what is not said as part of an ideological formation. There is now a broad push to transform design from a practice subservient to elite interests to a comprehensive, interdisciplinary practice capable of responding to a range of social and environmental urgencies. As part of this transformation, the four lectures engage with existing architectural imaginaries while proposing alternative ones.

On April 18, Henriette Steiner will present in the EKA hall a lecture “Before Copenhagen was “Livable”: Postmodernist Urban Development in a Time of Economic Downturn”

Henriette introduces her lecture: “Despite its limited appearances, stylistic and planning oddities, poor building quality, and current pariah status in terms of building heritage, Copenhagen’s postmodern architecture is an intrinsic part of Danish welfare architecture. With this talk, I wish to show that Copenhagen’s postmodernist development has been criticized largely for the wrong reasons, and that the period can offer alternative visions. I do this to give us a more differentiated understanding of the architecture that emerged at the turning point when Copenhagen went from being deprived and anonymous to become the image of a prosperous yet livable urban center we know today.”

Henriette Steiner is Associate Professor and Head of Section at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a PhD in history and philosophy of architecture (University of Cambridge) and works on diversity and justice in architecture and urban history often through feminist writing collectives. Recent books include Tower to Tower (with Kristin Veel, MIT Press, 2020), Touch in the Time of Corona (with Kristin Veel, De Gruyter, 2021) and Untold Stories (with Jannie Bendsen and Svava Riesto, Strandberg Publishing, 2023).

The lectures are intended for all disciplines, not only for students and professionals in the field of architecture.

 All lectures are held on Thursdays at 6 pm in the EKA main auditorium. All lectures are in English and free of charge.

Schedule of the spring lectures:

March 14 at 6 pm Jess Myers

April 4 at 6 pm Oulimata Gueye

April 18 at 6 pm Henriette Steiner

May 2 at 6 pm Lara Almárcegui

Within the framework of a series of open lectures, the Faculty of Architecture of EKA presents a dozen unique practitioners and valued theorists in the field in Tallinn every academic year. See all the lectures: www.avatudloengud.ee

The lecture series is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

In April, the public lectures of the Venia legend of the candidates for the 2024 academic staff competition will begin.

NB! The password for the videos is Faw1!.ec

April 15 in room A-501

Associate professor of Glass Design, head of BA specialty, head of department (1.0 positions)
at 11:30 Andra Jõgi lecture “Half empty & fully full”

Associate professor of theory and history of Product Design (0.75 positions)
at 12.30 Triin Jerlei lecture “Shared and personal (time) stories in design”
April 29 in room A-501

Associate Professor of the Department of Animation (1.0 positions)
at 13.30 p.m. Lilli-Krõõt Repnau lecture “We tell ourselves stories in order to live…”
April 29 in room A-501

Professor of Textile Design (1.0 positions)
at 3 p.m. Kärt Ojavee lecture “Textiles in interludes”
April 30 in room A-501

Associate Professor of Graphic Design (0.5 positions)
at 11 Kert Viiart lecture “Research in graphic design education and practice”

Associate professor of Fashion Design (0.5 positions)

at 12 Anu Samarüütel-Long lecture “Without or with thought, in silence or in noise. The path of creation”

May 3 in room A-501

Associate Professor of Interaction Design (0.75 positions)

at 10:30 Nesli Hazal Oktay lecture “Interaction Design of Our Future(s)”

at 11.30 Emrecan Gülay lecture “Empowering Human Creativity: Bridging the Physical and Digital Worlds in Interaction Design and Education”

at 12.30 Velvet Spors lecture “Inter-Personal, Inter-Connected, Inter-Faced: Exploring Technology as a Tool for Relationality”

Lectures for candidates for the Associate Professor of Interaction Design are in English

You are all welcome to listen!

On April 2nd at 4:00 p.m., an extraordinary open lecture will be held in the open area of the 4th floor of EKA (A400).

The lecture is held in English and is open to all interested parties.

Barbara Imhof: Living Beyond Earth.
Architecture for Extreme Environments

The lecture will transport us to space and beyond, showcasing a spectrum of space architecture examples—from feasibility studies to cutting-edge technological developments. These examples include deployable simulation habitats, simulations of Mars missions in terrestrial analogs, and underwater mission simulations. Additionally, it will cover the conceptualisation and implementation of habitat modules for future space stations like the Gateway, as well as innovative greenhouses such as the EDEN ISS in Antarctica. Themes explored range from integrating biogenerative principles to envisioning self-sufficient human settlements on the moon and Mars. Throughout, the projects map the requirements of space exploration while emphasizing ecological stewardship.

Barbara Imhof serves as the co-managing director of LIQUIFER Vienna – Bremen, alongside managing partners Waltraut Hoheneder and René Waclavicek, since 2004. Their globally recognized work is featured in a recent compendium published by PARK Books. Additionally, since September 2023, Barbara has held the position of professor for Integrative Design with a focus on Extremes at the Institute of Experimental Architecture at the University in Innsbruck, Austria.

Barbara Imhof has served as a simulation astronaut at the MOONWALK simulations, participated in expeditions to Antarctica and the South Pacific, and was recently elected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate Fellow of the Class of 2024.