From the top floor of the Hilton Hotel at Tucherpark in Munich, you could see the skyline of the city dotted with construction cranes, a reflection of its current state of development. With this backdrop of old meets new, this year’s edition of the Architecture Matters conference started its program under the title “Second City: The New in the Old.” While the title could have been fitting for a preservation conference, Architecture Matters actually brought together a diverse group of architects, urbanists, engineers, city planners, government officials, developers and technologists to discuss forward looking ideas for the built environment. Reduce, reuse, recycle, and the circular construction dominated the discussion across different scales, from city planning to new materials, and tech startups.
Martha Thorne: The Latest Architecture and News
Architecture Matters: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Circular Construction, and BuildTech Startups in Munich
Martha Thorne on Francis Kéré: "He Gives a Powerful Message about the Expanding Role of Architecture"
Pritzker Prize 2022 Laureate Francis Kéré is known for “empowering and transforming communities through the process of architecture”, as the jury stated in its citation. In this recently published video, Martha Thorne, Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design and former executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, shares some of the reasons why Francis Kéré has won the Pritzker Prize 2022.
IE School of Architecture and Design Interview Jeanne Gang to Discuss Architecture as a Good Neighbor
Under the theme of “good neighbors”, the IE School of Architecture and Design celebrated World Architecture Day, highlighting the importance of our commitment and collective responsibility for the future of human beings, societies, and built environments.
To celebrate the projects that have impacted our daily lives positively, the university showcased these buildings on their social media platforms and asked renowned architects and program directors on the importance of maintaining a sense of community and what makes buildings our good neighbors. The school hosted its dean Martha Thorne and award-winning international architect Jeanne Gang during a live interview on Instagram to discuss the evolution of the field of architecture after this year’s new set of living conditions.
Why Did Grafton Architects Win the Pritzker Prize 2020?
Pritzker Prize 2020 Laureates, Irish architects Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara are known for their powerful yet delicate approaches. In this exclusive video for ArchDaily, Martha Thorne, executive director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design, shares some of the reasons why Grafton Architects has won the Pritzker Prize 2020.
Why Arata Isozaki won the Pritzker Prize 2019
Named 2019 Pritzker Prize Laureate, Japanese architect Arata Isozaki is incredibly prolific and influential among his contemporaries. Deeply aligned with the period of change and reinvention that Japan experimented after Second World War and Allied Occupation, Isozaki has developed a solid career on a truly global scale, avoiding being labeled in a specific style throughout his life.
Martha Thorne Urges UK to Preserve International Recognition of Qualifications in Wake of Brexit
Martha Thorne, the Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize and dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, has warned of the dangers that the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw from the EU will pose to the architecture profession both in the UK and the EU. As reported by BDOnline, Thorne highlighted the mutual recognition of professional qualifications that has been established by the EU, enabling architects qualified in any EU country to practice in another EU country without being required to requalify.
SHoP Architects to Design National Veterans Resource Complex at Syracuse University
Following the shortlisting of three finalists in January, Syracuse University announced today that SHoP Architects has been selected to design the new National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC). The winning proposal was selected by a jury led by Martha Thorne, Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize and Dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid, beating out entries by Snøhetta and Adjaye Associates. The NVRC will serve as the headquarters of the University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), which has helped more than 48,000 veterans and military families.
MadeinSpain_USA: Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos to Lecture at RICE in Houston
Next February 22nd at 5.30 pm, Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos will start MadeinSpain5_USA lecture series at RICE School of Architecture in Houston, where they will show the most significant features of Spanish architecture related to their own work. One day later, on Tuesday at 12PM, there will be a round table with Fuensanta Nieto and Enrique Sobejano, attended by the renowned architect and professor Carlos Jimenez and Martha Thorne - Executive Director of the Pritzker Architecture Prize - as representative of the Foundation for Contemporary Architecture.
Adjaye, SHoP and Snøhetta Shortlisted for New Veterans Complex at Syracuse University
Adjaye Associates, SHoP Architects and Snøhetta have been shortlisted for a new National Veterans Resource Complex (NVRC) at Syracuse University. The three practices, all of which were among seven recently shortlisted to design the Obama Presidential Library in Chicago, were selected over 28 considered firms by a group of faculty, staff, students and design professionals, including Martha Thorne.
“The three finalist firms and their teams are outstanding,” says Thorne. “I have no doubt they will propose ideas that go beyond traditional academic buildings and make the NVRC a pioneering facility that will contribute to the University, as well as the broader community.”
50 Architects Tell Us What They Are Looking Forward to in 2016
As the first month of 2016 draws to a close, we decided to tap into our network and ask an esteemed group of architects, critics, theorists and educators to tell us what they are looking forward to this year in architecture.
What are you looking forward to in architecture this year?
When "Designer" Social Housing Goes Wrong: The Failures of Winnipeg's Center Village Project
The challenges of designing social housing are complex. As Martha Thorne recently told the Guardian, "It’s not enough to make community space and say, ‘People are going to see each other’... Architects really have to understand the context from the client – the cultural context, to the bigger context, to the economics, to the future of the residents who’ll live there.” Speaking about Winnipeg's well intentioned Centre Village project designed by 5468796 Architecture, Thorne believes many of these challenges are new to architects.
Just five years old, Center Village was designed as a community-oriented micro village for 25 families in one of Canada's poorest urban areas. Since its establishment, the complex has become a hot bed for crime; courtyards are being used by vagrants as shelter from police, while large families try to make a life within the cramp quarters of each home.
Grayson Perry, Martha Thorne and Bjarke Ingels Among the RIBA's 2016 Honorary Fellowships
The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) have announced fourteen 2016 RIBA Honorary Fellowships (of whom two are in partnership) and eight International Fellowships which will be awarded at an event on the 1st February 2016, alongside the recently announced RIBA Royal Gold Medal. RIBA Honorary Fellowships are awarded annually to people who have made "a particular contribution to architecture in its broadest sense," be it in the fields of architecture, construction, media, education, or the arts.
Martha Thorne Appointed Dean of IE School of Architecture and Design
Martha Thorne has been appointed as dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design in Madrid. Thorne, who is currently IE's vice dean, has had a major impact on the profession by serving as the executive director of the Pritzker Prize for nearly a decade. As BDOnline reports, Thorne will retain her Pritzker role as she furthers "the school's aim to bring the best of innovation and management to architectural disciplines.”
AD Interviews: Martha Thorne / IE School of Architecture and Design
During the Mextropoli Festival in Mexico City, we had the chance to sit down with Martha Thorne, the Vice Dean of the IE School of Architecture and Design, and the Executive Director of the Pritzker Prize, who spoke with us about some of the challenges currently facing architecture education.
"When there is globalization in any field there’s the danger that every place becomes similar, or in this case the danger that schools can become similar or standardized, all trying to approach architecture and the academics of architecture in the same way,” she explained. “I think what’s really interesting is to try to look at schools and see how they try to differentiate themselves.”