Our Intergenerational Dialogues series focuses on established architects and their contemporary counterparts practising today. For this special talk we are bringing together 2016 RIBA International Prize winners Grafton Architects and Aleph Zero, who won the prestigious prize in 2018. They will be discussing their award-winning education projects in South America, where the design of both projects is informed by the unique environmental context.
Ireland-based Grafton Architects was established by Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara, who won the RIBA International Prize in 2016 for the University Campus UTEC in Lima, Peru. More recently they were appointed as sole curators of the 16th International Architecture Biennale at Venice, Italy in 2018. The duo have taught and lectured widely and in 2018, both Shelley and Yvonne received University College Dublin’s highest alumni honour – the Ulysses Medal – recognising their outstanding global contribution in architecture. They are Fellows of the RIAI, are International Honorary Fellows of the RIBA and are elected members of Aosdána.
Aleph Zero is a Brazilian practice founded by Gustavo Utrabo and Pedro Duschenes, who won the RIBA International Prize in 2018 for the Children Village in northern Brazil. Among the office’s main recent awards they received in 2018 are the RIBA International Emerging Architect, ArchDaily Building of the Year and third place in Oscar Niemeyer Prize for Latin American architecture. Aleph Zero has also had its work exhibited on several occasions, the main one being the Brazilian pavilion of the Architecture Biennale of Venice in 2018.
The talk will take place in the Jarvis Hall at the RIBA and will begin with presentations by both pairs of architects followed by a conversation between the speakers. The event will end with Grafton Architects presenting the International Prize trophy to the new winners, Aleph Zero.
The RIBA + VitrA partnership reflects a shared commitment to add social, economic and cultural value to society, and VitrA Bathrooms are proud to be supporting such an inspiring programme.
With innovation at its core, a global reach and a tradition of collaborating with celebrated architects and designers, the VitrA bathroom brand has become a world leader, synonymous with contemporary sophistication since the mid-1900s.
The RIBA + VitrA Talks Series is sponsored by VitrA Bathrooms.