Webinar #02WTA – Sven THORISSEN, Kerem and Begüm YAZGAN, Pepe GASCON, Laurian GHINIȚOIU, Miloš KOSEC, Andreea ROBU-MOVILĂ, Florin MINDIRIGIU

Pepe’s architecture and design are contextual, taking into consideration the intrinsic characteristics of the context in which they arise. A lover of timelessness, his passion for architecture and design means that he views each project as a fresh challenge. His work has been published and exhibited in numerous publications and exhibitions, national and international. He began his professional career in 2003, mainly working on residential projects. In recent years he has enthusiastically worked on contract sector projects, primarily on hotel and restaurant design.

His work has been awarded many international prizes, whilst being constantly covered by numerous publications and specialized websites. (the Europe 40 under 40 Award, The International Architecture Award, The International Design Award, shortlisted in The LEAF Awards and shortlisted in The FAD Awards between many others).

Yazgan Design Architecture Inc. is an architectural, interior, landscape and graphic design and construction firm based in Ankara, Turkey. With an experienced staff of 45 architects, landscape designers, technical draftsmen, graphic designers and IT experts, the company has signed on to many architectural, interior design and landscape projects. In the past 16 years, Yazgan Design Architecture has been published in 19 countries and has awarded 89 national and international design awards.

With over 8.000.000 square meters in total projects located in both Turkey and many other countries, the portfolio of Yazgan Design Architecture continues to grow and diversify. The company can create projects of different programs and scales that cover conceptual, design development and construction phases. The company portfolio includes mixed-use buildings, retail, hotel, residential, office, educational buildings, hospitals, cultural centres, airports, and sports complexes.

His professional career covers architectural design, project development and sustainability. Previously Thorissen worked for MVRDV as project leader on projects including Unterföhring Park Village, the Frøsilos in Copenhagen, Buurt 9 in Amsterdam and the Market Hall in Rotterdam.

For MVRDV he currently oversees the studio for projects in German-speaking countries. Besides his work for MVRDV, he has acted as visiting critic at the Rotterdam Academy of Architecture, the ENSA Belleville, Paris, and the University of Applied Sciences in Leiden. Thorissen contributed to many publications about inclusive city design, future housing, the circular economy, and productive urban landscapes.

Laurian Ghinițoiu uses photography as an instrument to document the built environment. He is an architect who completed his studies in Romania 2010, followed by a master’s at DIA 2012-14 (Dessau, Germany).

His photographs achieved excellent results at international architecture photography competitions in the past five years. He recently won the overall winner and three categories in the Architectural Photography Awards 2019. His work is featured by major publishers, Phaidon, Domus, Taschen, El croquis, and selected as covers for the most influencing architecture magazines such as Architectural Record or A+U. Trough his collaborators, you can recognize big offices as DCA, OMA, BIG, Heatherwick studio, but also medium-small as SO_IL, Karamukkuo, SUO, among others.

What started as a curiosity for Ghinitoiu, photography, through hard work and passion soon became a lifestyle and a continuous journey. To date, this journey has allowed him to receive an improved and more complex understanding of architecture and the world.