END-OF-YEAR EVENTS 2009

The program for the End-of-Year 2009 presents the most momentous series of final events in the history of SAC. The series of events take place in the German Architecture Museum (Deutsches Architekturmuseum, "DAM") on July 9 and 10. In addition to the traditional projects review and associated events, SAC takes part in the exhibition, "Pleasure and Polemics in Architecture", which opens in the museum on July 10 after SAC’s annual Dean's Honorary Lecture.

"Pleasure and Polemics in Architecture" addresses the role of the pavilion in architecture and features the work of SAC with that of the Berlin-based firm, Barkow-Leibinger, and the Stuttgart engineering firm of Werner Sobek.

SAC’s contribution comprises students’ analyses of select pavilions and a study for a wall-structure-cum-pavilion in fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials designed by SAC faculty members, Johan Bettum and Lars Nixdorff.

The opening of the exhibition caps off two days of project reviews, the prize-ceremony for the Günter Bock Prize, awarded for the best work among the first year students, and the Dean’s Honorary Lecture, which this year is given by the director of the Architectural Association School of Architecture, Brett Steele.

The project reviews sees a distinguished panel of critics subject the work of the first year students and the diploma thesis candidates to critical discussion and assessment. The panel of critics includes Brett Steele; Dean and professor of Columbia University, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Mark Wigley; professor Beatriz Colomina of Princeton University; Frank Barkow, Peter Schmal of the German Architecture Museum and professor Achim Menges of Stuttgart University.

Faculty members on the panel include: rector of the Städelschule, professor Daniel Birnbaum; professors Ben van Berkel and Johan Bettum; Lars Nixdorff, Sigurdur Gunnarsson, Nikolaus Hirsch; and, from the engineering firm of Bollinger and Grohmann, professor Klaus Bollinger, professor Manfred Grohmann, Dr. Oliver Tessmann and Agnes Weilandt.

The work of the first year students comprises research and experiments based on their respective analysis of a select pavilion from the recent history of architecture. From the analysis, the students have derived individual topics and thematic foci that have been developed in a series of modeling experiments. The results are presented for their implications for architecture.

The Diploma Thesis projects are for an “Art Hostel” for Inhotim Centro de Arte Contemporanea in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The museum is one of the central institutions in Brazil for contemporary art and is looking to expand its service for visitors. This includes the plan to build a hostel that can cater to individual visitors and groups as much as form a programmatic connection to the local community.

For the third year in a row, the Günter Bock Prize will be awarded to the student in the First Year Group whose general performance and portfolio is outstanding. The prize is named after the previous leader of the Architecture Class, the Frankfurt-architect Günter Bock (1918-2002). The prize is supplied by the Lions Club Frankfurt Flughafen and previous recipients are Anton Savov (2007) and Michele Albanelli (2008). The prize jury is comprised of the projects review panel, headed by professor Ben van Berkel.

The Dean’s Honorary Lecture 2009 is given by Brett Steele, the director of the Architectural Association in London (AA), one of the most prestigious architectural schools in the world. Since becoming the director of the AA, Steele has consolidated the role of the school as a hub for the exchange and production of architectural knowledge and invention reflecting the current cultural trends in the Western world. Steele’s honorary lecture follows those of Greg Lynn (2008), Moshen Mostafavi (2007) and Mark Wigley (2006). The series was inaugurated on the occasion of SAC introducing its accredited post-graduate Master degree. With the series the dean of SAC seeks to pay personal tribute to and honor outstanding persons for their role and achievements in architecture.  

Thursday, July 9:

*    11:00-12:00: Press Conference.
*    13:00-19:00: First Year Project Review.

Friday, July 10:

*    10:00-16:00: First Year Project and Diploma Thesis Review.
*    16:30-16:50: Günter Bock Prize
*    17:00: Dean's Honorary Lecture: Brett Steele, Director of AA School of Architecture, London
*    19:00: “Pleasure and Polemics in Architecture” - Opening