Winka Dubbeldam - Bartlett International Lecture Series

New Solids

Lecturer's Abstract

There is a new interest in the body, in the solid, in massive forms. No longer minimal, light and thin, but full-bodied, soft, glowing and sometimes transformative, these solids give us comfort, ground us, and wrap us in a soft embrace. These solids are not anonymous, cold and sleek, but they have character, identity, and make us smile.

They are not overly serious, but yet often are a feat of great engineering, new material ecologies, and ground-breaking production methods. In short, they stand for innovation.

Biography

Winka Dubbeldam is Founder and Partner of Archi-Tectonics NYC, and Professor and Chair of the Department of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Archi-Tectonics is an WBE research-design practice, pursuing innovative methods and technologies of design and fabrication to create evocative and transformative environments. The practice operates at multiple scales of investigation, ranging from material research and prototyping to the planning of complex urban systems. Archi-Tectonics’ focus is not a recognisable 'signature' but a singular, task-specific identity that emerges from comprehensive research and poetic precision, valuing efficiencies over style.

Their built residential work includes several ground-up buildings in Europe and the USA, and a 120m tower in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, is currently being designed. The practice has also completed several commercial projects, including the 10,000sqft interior for the Netherlands Architecture Institute in Rotterdam.

Winka’s practice won the Built by Women New York City Award for the Greenwich Building in 2015 and Wired Magazine named Archi-Tectonics’ Inscape project one of the 25 best international architecture projects of 2016.

View the full schedule for The Bartlett International Lecture Series