CRUNCH: Research through Architectural Practice

Anna Heringer explores how architecture can be a powerful tool to improve lives and advance social justice. By focussing on sustainable and community-driven practices, she shows how buildings can address local needs and foster a sense of belonging.  

Known for her pioneering use of natural materials like rammed earth and bamboo, Anna will share insights from her award-winning projects, including the METI School and Anandaloy building in Bangladesh. These projects exemplify how thoughtful architecture can support education, inclusivity and environmental stewardship, offering a blueprint for a more equitable and sustainable future.  

This event is part of the flagship CRUNCH Series at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. 

Please note this event is first-come, first-served and is limited capacity. Doors close at 18:40. 

Speaker biographies

Anna Heringer grew up in Laufen, near Salzburg on the Austrian-Bavarian border. At 19, she spent a year in Bangladesh working with NGO Dipshikha, where she learned about sustainable development - an experience that shaped her architectural philosophy. Now an honorary professor of the UNESCO Chair of Earthen Architecture, Building Cultures, and Sustainable Development, her work focuses on natural building materials. Her METI School in Rudrapur received the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 2007, and she was awarded the Obel Award in 2020. Her work has been exhibited at MoMA New York, the V&A Museum in London and the Venice Biennale. 

Tracy Meller is a Senior Partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners with over 20 years' experience. As lead architect, she has delivered innovative schemes on complex urban sites, including the Centre Building at LSE, the South Kensington Around Station development, NEO Bankside and Mossbourne Community Academy. She was awarded the Inaugural MJ Long Award for Excellence in Practice 2020 and is Honorary Professor of Architecture at Nottingham University. She chairs numerous awards panels including the RIBA Bronze and Silver Medal, and the World Architecture Festival Super Jury, and is a Trustee of the University Design Forum, promoting high-quality design in university campuses, buildings and estates. 

Yeoryia Manolopoulou is Professor of Architecture and Experimental Practice and Design Co-Director at The Bartlett School of Architecture. She is Co-Founder of the London-based practice AY Architects, winners of the Stephen Lawrence Prize and multiple other RIBA awards. She is also the author of Architectures of Chance (Routledge, 2013), Open Score Architecture (UCL Press, 2020) and Dialogic Drawing (Elsevier, 2022). Yeoryia is the Founder and Lead Editor of the Bartlett Design Research Folios. For the 2016 Venice Biennale, she co-created Losing Myself, a design research project concerning architecture and dementia. Her recent work is centered on developing dialogic drawing and scoring tools for collaborative forms of architectural design in pedagogy, research and practice. Yeoryia was Director of Architectural Research and Design Research at The Bartlett from 2011 to 2023. 

David Storring is the Director of Sustainability at Morris+Company where he is instrumental in driving the practices strategy and approach to sustainability, whilst overseeing several complex mixed-use housing and work schemes in varied communities. He also shares the responsibility for ongoing strategic practice management and attending weekly design reviews across all projects. David also teaches at The Bartlett, co-running the Year 3 Design and Technology course, focusing on sustainability and emerging technologies, and as a visiting critic and lecturer at other universities. Though practice and university research, David ensures he is well-informed with current and future changes, encouraging critical debate and driving the innovation needed for a sustainable future.  

More information

Image: Studio Anna Heringer, Bamboo Hostels China, 2016. Photo © Jenni Ji.