Canadian Centre for Architecture / Centre Canadien d’Architecture

The first of three parts of Urgency, in which major international architects Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman present issues of vital importance in contemporary practice, followed by a conversation with CCA Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees Phyllis Lambert. This is the first annual presentation of the CCA’s Urgency event. The 2008 edition features Greg Lynn and Yung Ho Chang. Rem Koolhaas, Principal, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Peter Eisenman, Principal, Eisenman Architects Phyllis Lambert, Founding Director and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Canadian Centre for Architecture Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 8 June 2007

New York City-based writer Tom Vanderbilt was Visiting Scholar in residence at the CCA Study Centre in the fall of 2008. Tom Vanderbilt is author of the best-selling book Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). He writes on design, technology, science, and culture for such publications as Wired, Slate, The London Review of Books, Artforum, The Financial Times, Rolling Stone, The New York Times Magazine, Cabinet, Metropolis, and Popular Science. He is a contributing editor to the design magazines I.D. and Print, and a contributing writer to the popular blog Design Observer. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 16 October 2008

Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray deliver the 2008-2009 James Stirling Memorial Lecture on the City. Robert Mangurian and Mary-Ann Ray are principals at Studio Works, a Los Angeles-based practice founded in 1969. Their Stirling Lecture dissects the multiple phenomena that form Coachangdi’s dynamic urban condition. Please note that the sound quality of this podcast is variable due to the format of the lecture. The James Stirling Memorial Lectures competition was established in November 2003 to create a unique forum for the advancement of new critical perspectives on the role of urban design and urban architecture in the development of cities worldwide. It was conceived in homage to architect James Stirling, who believed that urban design is integral to the practice of architecture and a vital topic for public debate. The Stirling Lectures competition is a collaboration between the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) and the Cities Programme of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). www.cca.qc.ca/stirlinglectures Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 13 November 2008

Publisher and graphic designer Lars Müller discusses his work and the implications of producing books in the digital age, as well as his collaborations with the CCA. Lars Müller is co-publisher of the catalogue that accompanies the CCA exhibition Some Ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa. On view at the CCA in Montréal from 14 May to 26 October 2008. The exhibition marks the first North American presentation of residential projects by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa and reveals their ideas addressing the challenges of building homes in existing city environments. www.someideasonliving.org Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 18 September 2008

Stephen Bann, Professor of History of Art at the University of Bristol, presents - Quarrels between Painting and Architecture in Post-Revolutionary France. His lecture explores the significant tensions that existed between architects and painters in the French Academy after the fall of Napoleon, and how various aspects of the conflict relate to the broader issues of artistic theory and practice as they developed over the Romantic period in France. Stephen Bann’s published work ranges from issues of historicism, the history of museums and collections of curiosities, and the theory and practice of reproductive engraving. He has also written on many aspects of modern and contemporary art, including constructivism, concrete poetry and Arte Povera. His publications include The True Vine: On Visual Representation and the Western Tradition (1989); Paul Delaroche: History Painted (1997); Parallel Lines: Printmakers, Painters and Photographers in Nineteenth-Century France (2001). The CCA Mellon Foundation Senior Fellowship Program was established in 2001 to encourage advanced research in architectural history and thought. With the generous support of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, distinguished scholars of international repute are appointed Mellon Senior Fellows and join the Visiting Scholars in residence at the CCA Study Centre for extended periods each year. For a transcript and images of this lecture visit www.cca.qc.ca/mellonlectures Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 17 April 2003

Architect Will Alsop discusses his work and creative design process in conjunction with the CCA exhibition Will Alsop: OCAD, An Urban Manifesto. The exhibition features the British architect’s preparatory work for the Sharp Centre for Design at the Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD) in Toronto and reveals specifically the role of painting in his design process. Since completion, Alsop’s OCAD has become not only a popular icon but a catalyst inspiring the transformation and revitalisation of Toronto’s urban spaces. On view at the CCA in Montréal from 13 June until 5 October 2008. Will Alsop studied at the Architectural Association in London and worked in the office of Cedric Price before establishing his own practice in 1981. His work is guided by the principle that architecture is both vehicle and symbol of social change and renewal. The philosophy extends from the design of individual buildings to broader principles of urbanism and city development. The formal inventiveness and technical variety of his work was recognised with the prestigious 2000 RIBA Stirling Prize for his design of the Peckham Library, London (1996-99). Other projects include the Ferry Terminal, Hamburg (1989-93), Cardiff Bay Visitor’s Centre, Wales (1990), and Hôtel du Département des Bouches-du-Rhône, Marseille (1991-94). Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 2 October 2008

Dans le cadre de l’exposition Environnement : manières d’agir pour demain, Gilles Clément présente ses projets et ses théories. Présentée du 18 octobre 2006 au 10 juin 2007, Environnement: manières d’agir pour demain est une importante exposition consacrée au travail de l’architecte paysagiste français Gilles Clément et de l’architecte suisse Philippe Rahm. Juxtaposant leurs concepts en matière de paysages naturels et d’environnements artificiels, l’exposition propose de réfléchir non plus à partir des aspirations humaines en matière d’environnement, mais à partir de l’environnement lui-même. Gilles Clément a terminé ses études en génie horticole à l’École Nationale Supérieure du Paysage (ENSP) à Versailles en 1967 et a par la suite obtenu le diplôme en architecture du paysage de la même École. Il a réalisé de nombreux parcs et jardins publics et privés en Europe et en Asie, notamment le jardin du nouveau musée du quai Branly (2000) de Jean Nouvel, les jardins de la Grande Arche de La Défense (1994) et du parc André-Citroën (1992), à Paris, ainsi que les jardins du domaine de Rayol (1988) et du château de Blois (1987). Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montréal, 19 octobre 2006

Part of the 2007 Learning From... lecture series, Gregory Guldin presents Urbanising Southern China: Poverty, Minorities, and Development. A specialist in Chinese urbanisation, ethnicity, and politics, Gregory Guldin is Professor of Anthropology at the Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma, Washington. His lecture examines the social and environmental consequences of accelerated industrialisation in China, as agricultural villages become dense urban agglomerations at unprecedented rates. The lecture is introduced by Giovanna Borasi, CCA Curator of Contemporary Architecture. Learning From... examines cities and their response to new architectural and urban conditions in a rapidly transforming global economy. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 3 May 2007

Philippe Rahm présente son oeuvre et l’installation Météorologie d’intérieur (2007) développée avec la collaboration et l’appui du CCA et présentée dans le cadre de l’exposition Environnement: manières d’agir pour demain. Présentée du 18 octobre 2006 au 10 juin 2007, Environnement: manières d’agir pour demain est une importante exposition consacrée au travail de l’architecte paysagiste français Gilles Clément et de l’architecte suisse Philippe Rahm. Juxtaposant leurs concepts en matière de paysages naturels et d’environnements artificiels, l’exposition propose de réfléchir non plus à partir des aspirations humaines en matière d’environnement, mais à partir de l’environnement lui-même. Philippe Rahm a étudié à l’École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) et à l’Institut fédéral suisse de technologie (ETH Zurich), avant d’obtenir son diplôme en 1993. Avec Jean-Gilles Décosterd, Philippe Rahm a fondé l’agence Décosterd & Rahm, associés en 1995, qui a représenté la Suisse à la 8e Biennale d’architecture à Venise (2002) avec l’installation Hormonorium. Depuis 2004, il possède sa propre firme, établie à Lausanne et à Paris. Il travaille actuellement à de nombreux projets publics et privés en France, en Pologne, en Angleterre et en Autriche. Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montréal, 19 octobre 2006

A conversation between Japanese photographer Naoya Hatakeyama and CCA visiting curator Hubertus von Amelunxen on the exhibition Naoya Hatakeyama: Scales. The conversation is in English and Japanese with simultaneous translation by Minoru Tsunoda. Commissioned by the CCA, Naoya Hatakeyama created three photographic series of architectural models that challenge notions of scale and the perception of reality. He speaks about the series in the context of his work, and about the photographs from the CCA Collection that inspired them, in this conversation with CCA visiting curator Hubertus von Amelunxen. Naoya Hatakeyama is one of Japan’s leading photographers. Since the mid-eighties, the Tokyo-based artist has created a body of work concerned largely with the relationship between nature and cities. Naoya Hatakeyama: Scales was on view 27 September 2007 to 3 February 2008 and is the fourth and concluding exhibition in the Tangent series, which seeks to bring contemporary artists into dialogue with the CCA Collection. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 27 September 2007

Hubert Damisch, chercheur principal et boursier Mellon au CCA 2003 et Directeur d’études à l’École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales à Paris, présente Effacer l'architecture ?. Cette conférence examine la conséquence qu’aura, pour l’avenir de la pensée structurale, l’édifice-nuage Blur. Créé par la firme d’architectes new-yorkais Diller + Scofidio sur le lac de Neuchâtel en Suisse, cet édifice est la plus récente et radicale expression d’un désir de fluidité et d’évanescence en architecture. Hubert Damisch s’interroge sur ce désir d’associer dans une même construction deux matériaux de nature aussi antithétique que l’acier et le brouillard, et sur la façon de réaliser une structure de nuages. Hubert Damisch est professeur émérite d'histoire et de théorie de l'art à l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales de Paris. Il est l'auteur d'essais sur Mondrian, Pollock, Gropius, Dubuffet, Viollet-le-Duc, Giotto, Cézanne, Duchamp, etc. Parmi ses publications les plus connues : Théorie du nuage, Pour une histoire de la peinture (1972); L'origine de la perspective (1987); Le jugement de Paris (1992); Traité du trait (1995), ainsi que plusieurs recueils d'essais. Le programme pour boursiers et chercheurs principaux de la fondation Mellon du CCA a été mis sur pied en 2001 afin d’encourager la recherche de pointe en histoire et en philosophie de l’architecture. Grâce au soutien généreux de The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, d’éminents chercheurs sont nommés chercheurs principaux et boursiers Mellon et se joignent aux chercheurs en résidence au Centre d'étude pour quelques mois par année. Afin d’obtenir la transcription et des images de la conférence, consultez www.cca.qc.ca/conferencesmellon Centre Canadien d’Architecture, Montréal, 8 mai 2003

The third and final part of Urgency, in which major international architects Greg Lynn and Yung Ho Chang present issues of vital importance in contemporary practice, followed by a conversation with CCA Director Mirko Zardini. This is the second annual presentation of the CCA’s Urgency event, after the 2007 discussion with Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman. Greg Lynn, Greg Lynn FORM, Venice, California Yung Ho Chang, Head of the Department of Architecture, MIT Mirko Zardini, Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 13 June 2008

The second of three parts of Urgency, in which major international architects Greg Lynn and Yung Ho Chang present issues of vital importance in contemporary practice, followed by a conversation with CCA Director Mirko Zardini. This is the second annual presentation of the CCA’s Urgency event, after the 2007 discussion with Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman. Greg Lynn, Greg Lynn FORM, Venice, California Yung Ho Chang, Head of the Department of Architecture, MIT Mirko Zardini, Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 13 June 2008

The first of three parts of Urgency, in which major international architects Greg Lynn and Yung Ho Chang present issues of vital importance in contemporary practice, followed by a conversation with CCA Director Mirko Zardini. This is the second annual presentation of the CCA’s Urgency event, after the 2007 discussion with Rem Koolhaas and Peter Eisenman. Greg Lynn, Greg Lynn FORM, Venice, California Yung Ho Chang, Head of the Department of Architecture, MIT Mirko Zardini, Director, Canadian Centre for Architecture Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 13 June 2008

Architect Ryue Nishizawa speaks about his work and the CCA exhibition Some ideas on Living in London and Tokyo by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa. The lecture is introduced by Giovanna Borasi, CCA Curator of Contemporary Architecture. The exhibition marks the first North American presentation of residential projects by Stephen Taylor and Ryue Nishizawa and reveals their distinctive solutions to the challenges of building homes in existing dense urban fabrics. On view at the CCA in Montréal from 14 May until 26 October 2008. www.someideasonliving.org Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa is founding partner, with Kazuyo Sejima, of SANAA, established in 1995, and has maintained a parallel independent office since 1997. Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal, 14 May 2008