dieDAS
walk + talk
2020

Our fall 2020 dieDAS walk + talk weekend was a hybrid event. In response to the pandemic, we welcomed a selection of guests to our campus in person while at the same time presenting a robust virtual conference.

Exploring to the theme “Farming Materials’ Ecologies: From Uncomfortable Pasts to Responsible Futures,” our four inaugural fellows were on campus the week prior to collaborate; the research and results of their on-the-ground work were a key part of our walk + talk digital presentations and discussions. Topics ranged from designing a sustainable future to master crafts and materials survival, as well as past, present, and future material ecologies.

Our digital conversations and presentations featured an esteemed set of contributors, including:

  • Glenn Adamson
    Curator, Writer and Historian, Brooklyn
  • Christian Benimana
    Senior Principal & Managing Director MASS Design Group, Kigali
  • Adib Dada
    Founder of theOtherDada Regenerative Consultancy & Architecture , Beirut
  • Anna Heringer
    Architect and Hon. Prof. UNESCO Chair for Earthen Architecture, Building Cultures and Sustainable Development, Laufen
  • Prof. Dr. h.c. Ákos Moravánszky
    Institute for the History and Theory of Architecture at ETH Zurich
  • Alice Rawsthorn
    Design Critic and Author, London
  • Prof. Dr.-Ing. Daniela Spiegel
    Anhalt University of Applied Sciences, Dessau
  • Celine Vogt
    Strategic Relationships Manager, Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, Geneva
  • Prof. Sarah M. Whiting
    Dean and Josep Lluís Sert Professor of Architecture at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Cambridge
Prof. Daniela Spiegel
Paul Schultze-Naumburg and the Saalecker Werkstätten
Adib Dada
Building Responsibly for Climate, Environment and Inhabitants
Alice Rawsthorn
Designing a Sustainable Future
Christian Beniman, Anna Heringer, Prof. Sarah M. Whiting
Growing Buildings – Material Ecologies in Architecture and Communities
Maurizio Montalti, Sasson Rafailov, Basse Stittgen, Talin Hazbar, Svenja Keune
Inaugural Fellowship Program 2020: From Uncomfortable Pasts to Responsible Futures - Farming Materials Ecologies’
Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Ákos Moravánszky
The Ecological Arbor: Metabolism and Life Reform

Sincere thanks to all who participated.