For Justice... Ákos Moravánszky

"Material Truth" versus "Principle of Dressing".
Material Strategies in Contemporary Architecture.
The lecture will be conducted in English.

Recent research in the history and theory of architecture is beginning to focus on the specific role and significance of materials, as opposed to an emphasis on form or idea. This research resonates with the works of architects whose buildings operate more with material than with concept. The lecture will reconsider the theory of Gottfried Semper from the 19th century regarding material transformation (Stoffwechsel) and his theory of dressing, and in contrast to them, will address the frequently used term "material truth" to contribute to the discussion about material strategies in contemporary architecture.

Prof. Ákos Moravánszky (ETH Zurich)
Hungarian architect, architectural historian, professor of architectural theory at ETH Zurich. He studied architecture at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics and art history and heritage conservation at the Vienna University of Technology. He is interested in the history of architecture in Eastern and Central Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. He engages in research and publication activities. Among other roles, he was the editor-in-chief of the Hungarian Union of Architects Journal "Magyar Épitömüvészet", a research fellow at the Zentralinstitut für Kunstgeschichte in Munich, and a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts). He has published in the Swiss architectural magazine Werk, Bauen + Wohnen and serves on the editorial board of the magazine tec21.