IoA Sliver Lecture
Areti
Markopoulou
“Technology is the answer ... but what was the question?” (Cedric Price,
1966)
The Greek term téchne, is a term which up until today in European philosophy, coined the notion of Art, Science
and Craft. The history of technology could be described as the history of inventions in form of tools and techniques. At the
same time, it is closely connected to the history of science, economics and social agendas - a history of the very human condition
itself. Weather viewed through the topic of energy, information, productivity, machines, or social development, today most
of the world is accommodating a “technically civilized life” to some extent.
“It is the
moral, economic, and political choices we make, not the machines we use”, Lewis Mumford argues, “that have produced a capitalist
industrialized machine-oriented economy, whose imperfect fruits serve the majority so imperfectly.”
This years’s IoA
Sliver Lecture series "Architecture and Technology“ is trying to gather professionals to present versatile notions of
technology and its impact on the discipline of Art and Architecture. The invited lecturers will present their take on technology
and reflect on the potentials which it bears or what conventions it questions and how to approach those creatively/artistically.
Areti Markopoulou is a Greek architect, educator and urban technologist working on the intersection between architecture
and digital technologies. She is currently the Academic Director at IAAC in Barcelona, one of the leading international platforms
for education. Areti is also co¬editor of the Urban Next, a global network focused on rethinking architecture through the
contemporary urban milieu, and co¬founder of Studio P52, a collective arts & tech gallery. Her research and practice design
explores new architectural models that incorporate the application of ICTs, Material Intelligence and Fabrication, allowing
built and public space to dynamically adapt to behavioural and environmental changes over time. She has been developing urban
projects and guidelines with the City Council of Barcelona and the Municipal Institute of Information for the implementation
of ICT in the public space and the implementation of renewable Energy technologies in buildings and open spaces. Areti Markopoulou
has also served as a curator of international exhibitions such as the Pavilion of Innovation (Construmat 2015), MyVeryOwnCity
(World Bank 2011) and Fabrication Laboratory (Barcelona Design Museum 2010). She holds a Bachelor in Architecture & Engineering
from DUTH – Democritus University of Thrace, an MArch from IAAC, and a Fab Academy diploma on Digital Fabrication offered
by the Fab Lab Network. She is currently a PhD candidate in the UPC, researching the topic of Responsive Environments and
Smart Cities. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions worldwide, such as the Venice Biennale, Shenzhen Bi¬City
Biennale, Beijing Design Week, the 3d print show, and MaterFad among others. Areti Markopoulou has served as an external examiner,
visiting jury and lecturer in various universities such as the UCLA, SCI¬Arc, NTUA, UPenn, BSSA, and AA, among others.
