Design Thinking at SAC

Lecture

by Mirco Becker

The lecture is the precursor to a the Design Thinking Symposium on April 11th. It is giving an insight into the processes governing design and traces the different mindsets that developed along with the architectural discipline in history. With a look at design theory it will focuses on the reciprocal relationship between modes of design thinking and proposed artifacts. It advocate a designers self-awareness in a discipline between communication and making. Methodically, it will give an overview on design thinking as non-rational method for innovation.

Symposium

Hosted by Mirco Becker

The symposium brings together three different perspectives on architectural design thinking. It is based on the notion that a designers mindset is a critical factor in shaping the design process as well as the artifact. A craftsman thinks differently through a given design task than an engineer does, a mathematically inclined individual different than a visually biased one.

The speakers are all trained designers with a high degree of specialization. As much as they are experts in their filed they have all cooperated with an array of different architects thus are used to reading and adjusting to different modes of Design Thinking.

Each speaker will introduce their work and reflect on their very own design mindset as much as on the mindset of collaborating designers. In a panel discussion these different perspectives will be further explored for their uniqueness and as a rich source for design communication.

Hendrik Schwantes – Publishing Art and Architecture

Hendrik Schwantes is an editorial and graphic designer based in Berlin. Together with Michael Heimann he runs the studio Heimann und Schwantes since 2007. The firm’s focus is the conception and design of print media, identity programmes, exhibitions and interactive work, that are unique in terms of their artistry and craftsmanship. Heimann und Schwantes maintains collaborative relationships with individuals and institutions mainly in the areas of fine arts, architecture, and design, such as Olafur Eliasson, Sauerbruch Hutton, the Zumtobel Group and the Bauhaus Foundation Dessau.

Tobias Nolte – Constructing Geometries

Tobias Nolte  is a designer based in Berlin and New York.  He is currently Director at Gehry Technologies in New York where he leads a team of architects, engineers and builders in the implementation of parametric and computation methods to improve design, engineering and construction performance.  He was previously a director at the Europe office of Gehry Technologies in Paris where he has worked with a variety of leading international design firms including Gehry Partners, Zaha Hadid Architects, Snohetta, UNStudio, Coop Himmelb(l)au and several others.
His areas of interest include design computation, integrated product and process design, construction automation and  concurrent design.  Prior to Gehry Technologies he was a research fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design and worked for Preston Scott Cohen, Inc. on the New Building of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. He has taught courses on digital design at Ecole Speciale d’Architecture in Paris and Universität für angewandte Kunst in Vienna and has been a design critic at Harvard GSD, MIT, CITA and others. He studied in Berlin and Los Angeles and holds an Engineering Diplom in Architecture from the University of Technologies in Berlin.

Johannes Wolfgang König – Visual Imagination

Johannes Wolfgang König, grew up im Hamburg and graduated with a degree in Architecture form TU Berlin in 2009. Already during his studies he was working as a visual artist for several architectural practices such as KW Berlin, Hascher Jehle Architektur. Post his Diploma he specialist further into the creation of architectural images working with the competition department of Hascher Jehle Architektur. In 2011 he joined bloomimages in Hamburg and is leading their Berlin office since 2013.

Lecture and Symposium are part of the Staedelschule Architecture Class 2013 Lecture Series.