November Talks 2022 - invitation to the lecture series

November Talks, the November lectures at the Faculty of Architecture of Czech Technical University, will offer a new perspective on the future of cities. The series will kick off on November 7 with Winy Maas, founder of MVRDV and currently a visiting professor at CTU's FA. The lecture series, subtitled FUTURE(S). Time for a Change, will feature four international personalities from architecture, urbanism, and design, who are united by their visionary thinking and radical approach.
Cities occupy only two percent of the Earth's surface, yet they consume two-thirds of energy and produce 70% of global carbon emissions. Architects and urban planners are thus on the front line in the fight against climate change. This is agreed upon by Dutch architect and professor at the Delft University of Technology Winy Maas, French urbanist Alice Cabaret, American architect Karen Cook, and Carlo Ratti, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), this year's guests of the November Talks lecture series.

The subtitle of the series "Time for a Change" expresses the necessity to reevaluate how society responds to accelerating climate changes. "Rather than fighting climate change, we need to learn to adapt to it. This requires a radical change in the approach to designing buildings and entire cities, and architects, urban planners, and designers must come up with new ideas and innovations. This is what we want to show not only to our students," explains Irena Fialová, the vice-dean for international relations.
The opening lecture "The Future City: What’s next" will address the cities of the future. "I am convinced that ideas can profoundly influence our world. Great dreams, no matter how unattainable they may seem, can have a greater impact than small, easily achievable goals," says visionary Winy Maas.
Alice Cabaret's presentation will focus on the connection between urbanism and other fields, such as neuroscience or pop culture. Her lecture "Future-proofing our cities" will offer new perspectives on urban environment development.

Can a skyscraper positively impact its surroundings? How should an architect navigate a complex site and lead stakeholders with differing opinions, especially in the challenging context of climate change and cost pressures? Karen Cook will answer these questions using her project for the office building "Vertical Village - 22 Bishopsgate" in London as an example.

The series will conclude with Carlo Ratti discussing "Senseable Cities." The Internet is entering the physical space, the traditional domain of architecture and design, and is becoming the "Internet of Things." This opens the door to transforming mobility, energy, and industry. The lecture will address these questions through the MIT Senseable City Laboratory project.

November Talks will take place over four Mondays in November, always at 6:00 PM – November 7 (Winy Maas), November 14 (Alice Cabaret), November 21 (Karen Cook), and November 28 (Carlo Ratti) – at lecture hall 155 Gočár / 105 Kotěra (Winy Maas), Faculty of Architecture of CTU, Thákurova 9, Prague 6.

Lectures will be in English and are open to the public, with free admission and accessible facilities. Winy Maas's lecture will also be streamed on the faculty's YouTube channel. A welcome drink combined with an informal meeting with the speakers will be offered starting at 5:30 PM.

The November Talks series has been supported by the Sto Foundation since 2006 and takes place at selected European schools of architecture.

Information about the speakers:

Winy Maas
Dutch architect, landscape architect, and urbanist, currently a visiting professor at CTU's FA. Winy Maas co-founded MVRDV, a globally recognized architectural office acclaimed for its innovative and experimental approach to the architecture of buildings, cities, and landscapes. Notable projects include the Dutch Pavilion at Expo 2000 in Hannover, the Rotterdam Markthal, and the Glass Farm in Schijndel. His portfolio also includes various master plans, including visions for the future of Greater Paris, the left bank in Bordeaux, and the waterfront in Oslo. He serves as a professor at TU Delft, where he founded The Why Factory institute in 2008 to explore development possibilities for future cities.

Alice Cabaret
French urbanist with international experience in urban transformation. She is the founder of The Street Society, a creative urban agency based in Paris, and co-founder of the [S]CITY initiative focused on exploring the connections between neuroscience and urbanism. In her practice, she focuses on urban project implementation, modernization, and activation in public spaces, urban research, and curation.

Karen Cook
American architect, graduate of Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Among the projects she has been involved in are 22 Bishopgate in London, Danube House and Nile House in Prague's Karlín district, and Tour First in the La Défense district of Paris. After years of collaboration and partnership in KPF and PLP offices, she founded Spice Design studio with Jean Le Lay in 2022.

Carlo Ratti
Architect and engineer, head of the Senseable City Lab at MIT, focusing on the impact of new technologies on urban design. He is a founding partner of Carlo Ratti Associati, co-author of over 500 publications, and his work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale, the Design Museum in Barcelona, and MoMA in New York.

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