Argentine architect Emilio Ambasz, precursor of the green architecture movement, will be amongst the guests of the “building, dwelling, thinking” programme at Cersaie 2019, where he will speak at a conference to be held in the Architecture Gallery on Thursday 26 September.
Born in Argentina, Ambasz is also a citizen of Spain by Royal Grant. He studied at Princeton University where he also earned a master’s degree in Architecture. He served as Curator of Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (1969-76), where he curated major exhibitions including “Italy – The new Domestic Landscape”. He also taught at Princeton University’s School of Architecture and was visiting professor at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm, Germany.
Ambasz’s trademark style is a celebration of technology combined with a return to nature, which he describes as “green over grey”. Among his architectural projects are the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, winner of the 1976 Progressive Architecture Award; the “Casa de Retiro Espiritual” in Cordoba, Spain, winner of the 1980 Progressive Architecture Award; and the Conservatory at the San Antonio Botanical Center in Texas, winner of the 1985 Progressive Architecture Award, the 1988 National Glass Association Award for Excellence in Commercial Design, and the 1990 Quaternario Award. He won the First Prize in the 1986 competition for the Urban Plan for the Eschenheimer Tower in Frankfurt, Germany. His Banque Bruxelles Lambert in Lausanne, Switzerland received the 1983 Annual Interiors Award. He holds a number of industrial and mechanical design patents, and his Vertebra chair is included in the Design Collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
His many awards and recognitions include an Honorary Fellowship from the American Institute of Architects, the 2014 Medal of Science from the Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bologna, Italy, and an Honorary International Fellowship of the Royal Institute of British Architects. He has also won the Compasso d’Oro award 3 times.
Now in its 11th edition, the “building, dwelling, thinking” cultural programme will once again host a wide range of events, including conferences given by internationally acclaimed architects and designers in the Architecture Gallery.
