November Talks 2018: Grégoire Zündel

The lecture series is part of an event supported for the 13th year by the Sto Foundation across six European schools of architecture. The lecture at the FA ČVUT for students and the public will be in English, and entry is free.

Grégoire Zündel and his partner Irina Cristea belong to the youngest generation of architects interested in sustainability – diversity – innovation and the harmony between global and local contexts aimed at improving the quality of life for people across disciplines and scales.

Their office has won several architectural competitions, and is currently constructing four metro stations in Paris and four in Rennes, while working on a study for a new station in Lyon. Grégoire Zündel and Irina Cristea are the authors of the publication Time for Play. Why architecture should take happiness seriously, published by the renowned architectural publisher Actar Publishers in 2016.

In addition to residential, civic, and transport buildings, AZC’s portfolio includes unusual to fantastic design objects. In connection with the announcement of the results of the competition for a new modern bridge over the Seine, French media reported that tourists will be able to bounce to the Eiffel Tower! The AZC office submitted an inflatable trampoline bridge to the competition, designed to entertain people and provide them with an amazing feeling of freedom and lightness. It consists of a self-supporting structure made of three modules, based on an inflatable ring with a diameter of 30 meters with a giant trampoline in the center.

The project of this innovative urban bridge, whose prototype is currently being tested on Lake Banyoles in Spain, aptly reflects the philosophy of the AZC studio. They believe that “the best way to predict the future is to create it” (quote by Peter Drucker, founder of modern management).