Exchanging Parcels - Bartlett International Lecture Series

About

Streamed live on The Bartlett School of Architecture's YouTube channel, this event will be a discussion between co-hosts Ella Caldicott and Ana Monrabal-Cook and speakers Soraya Smithson and Eva Prats.

This event forms part of The Bartlett International Lecture Series Autumn 2020.  

Abstract

In this event, artist Soraya Smithson and architect Eva Prats will discuss their shared joy in ‘re-purpose’ and ‘re-use’. They are both interested in scale, the domestic environment and how people emotionally engage with, and occupy, space. Their friendship and professional collaboration spans 30 years and they continue to look to each other for clues and inspiration on how to progress their independent ideas. 

This talk will be a medley of food, models, paintings and buildings. It will present the argument for process-oriented creative acts that respond to something that already exists; whether this is existing built fabric, a social condition or revisiting a famous painting. Soraya and Eva will also look back on the value of the collaborative approach as a way of progressing ideas beyond the completion of a commissioned project.  

Speaker biographies

Soraya Smithson is a multi-disciplinary artist, designer, maker and writer based in Lincolnshire. Imbued in architectural ideas from her parents Alison and Peter Smithson, she has collaborated with architects creating public pieces such as 'The Canongate Wall' at Holyrood (Scottish Parliament) with Enric Miralles, and events such as ‘Ingredients and Cakes’ and ‘Teatre de Paper’ with Flores & Prats. Recently exhibited work includes So’Bosch, a major project of ceramic pieces inspired by objects found in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch. 

Eva Prats is an architect and co-founder of Flores & Prats Arquitectes (Barcelona, 1998). Eva holds a PhD in Architecture from RMIT Melbourne, where she is currently a Professor. She also teaches as a guest professor at ETH Zürich. Recently completed projects include The Sala Beckett in Barcelona and the double contribution to the Biennale di Venezia 2018 with ‘Liquid Light’ and ‘The Morning Chapel’ at the Vatican Pavilion. Eva is the author of several architectural essays including the recently published Sala Beckett International Drama Centre (Arquine 2020). 

Image: Sala Beckett Teatre de Paper by Soraya Smithson. Image Credit: Adrià Goula.