Arno Brandlhuber gets a full house listening to his words on Architecture and Urban Planning
"Start with the referendum, not the building" - Arno suggested to a sold out venue
At the invitation of the Lisbon Triennale, Arno Brandlhuber dropped by CCB's Sophia de Mello Breyner Room, where he explored "Architecture as an argument" through the different projects developed by his office. In front of a packed room, with all 218 seats taken, José Mateus presented this talk — the penultimate of this cycle of Critical Distance — reminding us that Brandlhuber is one of the finalists of the 2019 Mies van de Rohe Award. Lucinda Correia, who moderated this intimate conversation, introduced the subject of legislation and the way it restricts and shapes architecture, also mentioning the guest's role as an activist.
Arno Brandlhuber | Critical Distance | Centro Cultural de Belém | 15 March 2019 © Hugo David
Brought to stage, Arno starts exploring the early days of mankind and the way ideas take shape, revealing his project methodology, in a range of inspirations and references. His now famous "Terrassenhaus" — the 2018 atelier and multifunctional gallery — was presented as a "creative dance" that hosts a variety of functions, highlighting the importance of mixed use and the 'work-live' model. With his "Anti-Villa", he revealed how a dwelling can simultaneously adapt to our various needs, thus questioning existing typologies.
In regard to his activism, Arno confronted public and private property through various examples: a colour that was used as a metaphor for the cause and was applied in the media, standardising all that was published on the subject; an extract of "Legislating Architecture", his latest feature film, which explores the role of architecture in social, legal and real estate matters; and strategies to bypass the bureaucracies of legislation — “Lower the standards and you win elsewhere”.
Critical Distance | Centro Cultural de Belém | 15 March 2019 © Hugo David
Brandlhuber's fluent presentation was marked by irony and dove into the construction and deconstruction of the answers of legislative power in creative dialogues. Arno is, without a doubt, an architect in permanent interrogation, who believes in working with other authors and areas of expertise for its enriching benefits. The audience's participation brought to the table the problem of gentrification and various subjects were discussed, from the changes in the market, the crisis of 2009 and the advantages of housing in the growth and development of cities – all of these being equally relevant to the Portuguese case. The audience thanked Arno for his testimony as a political activist.
Brandlhuber's online TV channel was featured in the conference. We invite you to check its contents, spanning from politics to architecture and urban planning, here.