Form follows ground: on geometry in contemporary architecture
Toni Kotnik –Professor of Design of Structures at Aalto University, Helsinki
Date & Time
10th April 2025
18:00 - 19:30 CET
Availability
In person event
Location
Friggieri Hall,
Valletta Design Cluster
Price
€ 50.00
€ 25.00
*Note: You are only eligible for student rates if registering with your University of Malta, MCAST or American University of Malta email addresses.
This lecture explores the evolving role of geometry in contemporary architecture, addressing how built environments can respond to today’s pressing global challenges. Professor Toni Kotnik will present a framework for understanding architecture as a regenerative practice, rooted in geometric logic and informed by advances in parametric and algorithmic design. Through built examples and conceptual insights, the session highlights how these design methods impact construction, tectonics, and the relationship between the manmade and the natural.
Contemporary architecture is marked by complex challenges like climate change, urbanization, and population growth. My interest in geometry is based on a critical rethinking of the notion of ground and the relation between the manmade and the natural environment that results in an understanding of architecture as regenerative practice. In the lecture we will see how this need for architecture to be in balance with nature leads to a shift from designing forms to creating inner logics of geometric construction. We will look from a conceptual level onto parametric design, or more general algorithmic design and the impact of this thinking on construction and tectonics. All of this will be done very hands-on by discussing built architecture and simple examples.
Difficulty Level
A general appreciation of the subject, as well as an understanding of how the subject may affect, or integrate, with other subjects.
Prerequisite
None
Who is this for?
This lecture is designed for architects, structural engineers, computational designers, and advanced architecture students interested in the integration of geometry, design logic, and sustainable construction practices. It will also resonate with professionals exploring parametric methodologies and those involved in research or practice at the intersection of technology, design, and the built environment.
Meet your instructor?
Toni Kotnik is Professor of Design of Structures at Aalto University in Helsinki, Finland. He studied architecture, mathematics and computational design in Germany, Switzerland and the US. Before joining Aalto he taught among others at the ETH in Zurich, the Architectural Association in London, the Institute for Experimental Architecture at the University of Innsbruck and the Singapore University of Technology and Design. He has been lecturing at universities worldwide as well as at museums like the Guggenheim in Bilbao or the MOMA in New York. His practice and research work has been published and exhibited internationally, including the Venice Biennale, and is centred on the integration of knowledge from science and engineering into architectural design thinking and the exploration of organizational principles and formal methods as design driver at the intersection of art and science.
Lecture aims
To engage in discussions about the shifting role of geometry in contemporary architecture, focusing on innovative design strategies that respond to the complex demands of today’s built environment. This includes addressing the latest advancements in parametric and algorithmic thinking, and their application in creating structurally efficient, sustainable, and buildable architectural solutions.
Lecture outcomes
At the end of this lecture, the participant will:
- Getting aware of challenges to construction in non-standard architecture.
- Understanding the need for parametric and algorithmic description of architecture geometry to make it buildable.
- Gain awareness of the impact of this type of geometric thinking on architectural design.
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