To be held in August, the 12th international Alvar Aalto Symposium, entitled “CRAFTED – The Ingredients of Architecture”, will discuss how architecture can rise above the ordinary. The symposium will feature 14 top experts and thinkers in their fields, offering their takes on this year’s theme. The latest addition to the list of speakers is Mohsen Mostafavi, a renowned architect who is dean and professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Mohsen Mostafavi (US) will take the slot of Richard Sennett, whose appearance was cancelled earlier. In addition to Mostafavi, symposium speakers include Kjetil T. Thorsen, founding partner of Snøhetta, the agency responsible for the design of the Oslo Opera House and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina; architect Takaharu Tezuka; and Bjarne Mastenbroek, founder of the Amsterdam-based agency SeARCH.

This year’s theme, “CRAFTED – The Ingredients of Architecture”, will be explored from a variety of interesting perspectives by some of the top names from Finland and abroad.

“The symposium will address the complex relationship between material, craft and culture, not only as a matter of professional practice but also from a sociological and pedagogical imperative,” says Professor Pekka Heikkinen, chairman of this year’s Alvar Aalto Symposium.

Organised by the Alvar Aalto Academy, the 12th international Alvar Aalto Symposium will be held from 10 to 12 August 2012 in Jyväskylä. The symposium serves as a forum to highlight some of the best examples of our built environment and to promote discussion and argument. The symposium is part of the WDC Helsinki 2012 programme.

Crafted press release 11.5.2012 (PDF)

More information on the symposium:
Producer Mari Forsberg, mari.forsberg@alvaraalto.fi, tel. +358 45 679 0920
Alvar Aalto Academy
Director of the Alvar Aalto Academy Esa Laaksonen, esa.laaksonen@alvaraalto.fi,
tel. +358 50 555 7330
Alvar Aalto Academy

Accreditation for the symposium:
Merja Vainio, merja.h.vainio@alvaraalto.fi, tel. +358 400 772 636

Speaker presentations:
www.alvaraaltosymposium.fi/lecturers/

Press images on the speakers’ projects

www.alvaraaltosymposium.fi