In honour of the groundbreaking architect Emilio Ambasz, a resident of the Principality and a keen member of the Club des Résidents Etrangers de Monaco, Columbia University has announced it will launch a fascinating series of lectures in 2025 that will bear his name and be delivered by the finest names in architecture.
Emilio Ambasz, a world-renowned architect and industrial designer who is often referred to as the father of green architecture, was born in Argentina in 1943. Today, he lives in Monaco and is an active participant in the Club des Résidents Etrangers de Monaco, having delivered a lecture to his fellow members earlier this year.
He has received numerous accolades over the course of his storied career, with one of his standout projects – the iconic Casa de Retiro Espiritual in Seville, Spain – set to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. The building remains one of the most influential architectural works of its time.
Now, Ambasz can add another feather to his cap with the announcement that Columbia University in New York is set to pay tribute to his enduring contributions to architecture and his legacy of innovation by giving his name to a new series of lectures: the Emilio Ambasz Annual Lecture on Architecture as Poetry.
The inaugural event in this prestigious series, which is dedicated to exploring the intersection of architecture and creativity at Columbia, will take place on 7th April. Kengo Kuma, an acclaimed Japanese architect known for his innovative approach to blending architecture with nature and using traditional materials in modern designs, has been confirmed as the first speaker of the series.
After Kuma’s lecture, the series will invite various other leading figures in architecture from around the world to discuss how design can transcend mere function to become an artistic and emotional expression.
“I consider architecture as the search for a spiritual dwelling,” says Ambasz. “An architect can be the guardian of the desert of cities created by man or be the magician who creates eternal forms. The context in which the architect is called to operate may change, but the task remains the same: to give poetic form to the pragmatic. If an architectural work doesn’t move the heart, it’s just another building.”
Speaking about the new series, Barry Bergdoll, the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History and Archaeology at Columbia University, noted, “We are all so pleased to introduce this lecture series, made possible by and carrying the name of world-renowned architect, designer, curator and theoretician Emilio Ambasz. Ambasz has a poetic and emotive approach to architecture. The series aims to further one of his life-long commitments, namely that, in addition to all the technical and societal demands at the core of the architect’s task, the discipline is imbued with the poetic.”
The lecture series will be hosted by the university’s Department of Art History and Archaeology, a department with a distinguished tradition of architectural scholarship. Notable faculty members such as Rudolph Wittkower, Howard Hibbard, and Robert Branner have contributed to its rich legacy, making it an ideal home for this initiative.
“It is fitting that Columbia’s Department of Art History and Archaeology will be home to this unique lecture series,” says Amy Hungerford, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. “The department’s curriculum is interdisciplinary and encourages students to explore all the domains of human experience that inspire, disturb or energise the imagination, of which architecture is certainly one.”
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Monaco-based architect Emilio Ambasz wins prestigious IN/ARCH award
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Photo credit: Wade Zimmerman