Next City = (?) = Nature Manifesto 3: City as a Site

Presented in conjunction of the "Next City = Nature" research project hosted at CAFA The School of Architecture and supported by Dutch DFA, this panel looks at the city as a site to question how nature can inspire and provoke our cognition, cultivation, criticism, design, imagination, reflection, transformation etc of the city itself.

Speakers: Jeremie Descamps (Urbanist, Founder of Sinapolis, FR), WAI Architecture Think Tank (Architects, CN), Ruben Lundgren (Photographer, Co-founder of WassinkLundgren, NL), Shoupin Zhang (Graphic Designer, Founder of MAX office, CN), Neville Mars (Architect, MARS Architects, NL), Noortje Boer (Graphic Designer, LAVA, NL), Celine Lamee (Graphic Designer, LAVA, NL).

Moderated by: Aric Chan, Creative Director Beijing Design Week.
Organized by CAFA The School of Architecture and TEXTENT group.
Website: www.cityequalnature.com

Bios:
Jeremie Descamps (Urbanist, Founder of Sinapolis)
Sinapolis is a Beijing-based studio for studies and resources on cities and built environments in China founded in 2007. The studio provides innovative services and tools, gathering data on Chinese cities to answer emerging needs in information and training. Sinapolis works with professionals, universities, and any international organization or company looking to investigate or develop activities in mainland China.The studio is managed by Jeremie Descamps, sinologist and urban planner, graduated with a master in Chinese Language & Civilization from Langues O’ Paris, and a master in Urban Planning from Paris XII University.

Nathalie Frankowski/ Cruz Garcia (WAI Think Tank, Architects)
WAI Architecture Think Tank is an international avant-garde studio practicing architecture, urbanism and architectural research. Founded in Brussels in 2008 by French architect, artist and writer Nathalie Frankowski and Puerto Rican architect, artist, and writer Cruz Garcia WAI is currently based in Beijing. WAI strives to make significant contributions to the collective intelligence of architecture, from the conception of buildings and masterplans to the production of fresh research projects and innovative publications. WAI is a Workshop for Architecture Intelligentsia. WAI asks What About It?

Nathalie Frankowski is a French Architect, writer and artist who graduated in 2008 from the department of Architecture, Art and Philosophy at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture de Paris La Villette with a Diplome d’État d’Architecture option research. Her final project “It Feels Like Home: Chez-soi entre nature et densité” received the special mention from the jury. In 2008 she co-founded WAI Architecture Think Tank.

Cruz Garcia is a Puerto Rican Architect, writer and artist who graduated in 2008 from the Universidad de Puerto Rico with a Master Degree in Architecture after earning the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for outstanding leadership and the Henry Adams Medal for the Highest Degree. His research thesis earned him the PBDT Scholarship. In 2008 he co-founded WAI Architecture Think Tank.

Ruben Lundgren （Photographer）
Ruben Lundgren is a photographer from the Netherland. After graduation he moved to China, and lived most of the time in Beijing. He has published more than 10 albums in the last 6 years. To his great joy, his works has been shown in the just concluded Beijing International Book Fair. Ruben Lundgren’s works covers a wide range of objects, places like monasteries, trees in Shanghai, people who are picking up empty bottles, and also himself.

Shoupin Zhang (Graphic Designer)
MAX (Studio Beijing), Multidisciplinary Office for Design. Freelancer of 2x4(NY), Part-time lecturer at CAFA.

Neville Mars
Dutch architect Neville Mars is the principal of MARS Architects in Shanghai, a design studio specialized in sustainable projects from architecture to urban and regional planning. Mars is the author of The Chinese Dream - a society under construction (010 Publishers, Mars, Hornsby, Rotterdam 2008). In 2010 he was invited by Caofeidian Ecocity to develop a comprehensive future vision using the Evolutionary Planning strategy. The project was presented at the Shanghai World Expo 2010. Current projects include a 300 meter tall office tower in Chongqing, winning bid for the national image museum in Chengdu. Coming months Mars will finalize a future vision for urban Mumbai, a pedestrian bridge for the Guggenheim Museum New York and publish a comprehensive design manual for ecocities in China.

Lava Design (Amsterdam)
Lava is an Amsterdam based design agency, founded in 1990. In the 22 years of existence, Lava has created award winning designs for a diverse group of clients in both the profit and the nonprofit sector. Lava started as a graphic design agency and has extended the team in recent years with UX (User Experience) specialists, which made it an all-round company for design solutions for both print and digital screens, including campaigns, interactive installations, interior designs for physical objects and spaces, communication strategy.Lava is a unique creative hub in the center of Amsterdam.Lava has won numerous design awards and was voted European Design Agency 2010. Lava has joint cooperations in Moscow and Istanbul and is preparing to open an office in Beijing in October 2012

Noortje Boer
Noortje studied design at ARTEZ, Arnhem, Holland. After her study she worked at various studios and joined Lava 6 years ago as Senior Designer. Noortje has specialized in editorial design. She approaches design from a content perspective. In her work for various magazines and books she acts as a visual journalist. Noortje has worked on editorial projects for the city council for water management and the National History Museum. She has lectured and organized workshops at a a variety of institutions and was sports a seeming variety of design awards.

Celine Lamee
Celine studied at ARTEZ, Arnhem, Holland. She joined Lava 5 years ago as Senior Designer. In this role she works with different clients, she is a strong conceptual thinker who’s not afraid to create ‘out of the box’. Celine has worked on projects for clients like: DeBalie cultural centre, De Key real estate development, Dutch and Turkish government, the Dutch National Museum of History. Her work has been recognized with various design awards. She regularly leads workshops with students in the Netherlands and abroad.