Architecture has never been more accessible. The dissemination of architecture through digital media can hardly be considered a novelty, but today, through these platforms and their relevant social media networks, architecture can be seen, discussed and experienced virtually by a global population. Instagram counts more than 1.3 billion active followers whom share 1.3 billion photos daily while Pinterest's 400 million monthly users share more than 175 billion pins generating a market value of $18 billion. Although hashtags as #architecture, #architecturephotography, #architectureporn (amongst many others) and their amounting millions of images, reveal that architecture is indeed for everyone, the discipline and practice of architecture is frequently misunderstood by the larger public who identify the architect as the mere designer of buildings.
Faced with the questions that guided the first editions of Architecture and the Media, this year’s programme focused the debate on the role of digital platforms and their affiliated social media channels in the dissemination of architecture to question the opportunities these platforms offer and what risks, if any, are involved? In this conversation founders David Basulto and Federica Zambeletti reveal their respective experiences and stories behind the founding of their platforms and the ambitions that they each have for the democratisation of architectural knowledge and ideas.
Cover image: © Gili Merin
About
The European Conference on Architecture & the Media is conceived as a place to meet and exchange experiences on the dissemination of architecture. It is addressed to journalists, cultural institutions and organizations, communication professionals, architects, and architecture lovers. Architecture & the Media focuses on architecture perceived as culture and was launched in 2018 to investigate different perspectives to disseminate the core values and most cutting-edge topics of architecture through the media, either general interest press and specialized press, printed or online.
Answering the question about the role of the media in bringing architecture closer to more people by making it understood and appreciated is the thread that drives us to bring together and debate with journalists and communication professionals from different parts of Europe.
Architecture & the Media is organized by Labóh and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe with the support of Creative Europe as part of the dissemination program of the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Awards. The event was held during MODEL. Barcelona Architectures Festival (April 20th – 30th).
David Basulto is an Architect, Founder and Director of ArchDaily, the world’s most visited architecture website. Its mission is “to improve the quality of life of the next 3 billion people who live in cities by 2050, by providing inspiration, knowledge, and tools to the architects who face this challenge. ”David has served as jury for several awards, prizes and design competitions in Latin America, North America, Europe, and Asia. Member of the Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize International Advisory Council in Chicago, of the Endeavor Foundation in New York, and member of the Academic Council of TEC de Monterrey in México. Curator of the Nordic Countries Pavilion at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale.
Federica Zambeletti is an architect, researcher and digital curator who’s interests lie at the intersection between art, architecture and regenerative practices. Federica is the founder and creative director of the research driven studio and digital magazine KoozArch which she founded in 2015 with the ambition of creating a space where to research, explore and discuss architecture beyond the limits of its built form. Parallel to her work at KoozArch, Federica is Architect at the architecture studio UNA and researcher at the non-profit agency for change UNLESS where she is project manager of the research “Antarctic Resolution”. Federica is an Architectural Association School of Architecture in London alumni.
