Ilka Ruby: Together! The New Architecture of the Collective
Introducing the keynote speaker of the International Social Housing Festival policy conference
Brussels, 4 May 2017 | Published in Urban, Social
Berlin-based Publisher and Curator on issues surrounding Architecture and Urbanism, Ilka Ruby will be the keynote speaker of the policy conference 'Social Housing: looking back, moving forward; embracing change to deliver the future' that is jointly organised by Housing Europe and its Dutch member organisation, Aedes within the framework of the International Social Housing Festival (ISHF) on June 15th.
Ilka's keynote presentation is inspired by and will share with the audience the key findings and the narrative of the research behind the internationally renowned exhibition 'Together! The New Architecture of the Collective' opening on June 2nd at the Vitra Design Museum.
The exhibition presents an overview of contemporary collective housing projects from contexts as different as Europe, Asia, and the United States.
As the curators, including Mrs. Ruby, explain in their introduction:
Housing is scarce – that much has become evident in the last few years. As real estate prices in big cities continue to skyrocket, conventional ideas of housing development prove unable to meet demands. The reaction to these challenges has been a silent revolution in contemporary architecture – towards collective building and living. Using models, films, and walk-in displays, the exhibition »Together! The New Architecture of the Collective« addresses this global phenomenon by presenting a broad array of collective building and living projects from Europe, Asia, and the United States. An overview of historical precedents for the current wave of collectives demonstrates that the idea of collectivity has been a recurring theme in the history of architecture, from the reformist ideas of the nineteenth century to the hippies and squatters of the twentieth who touted the slogan Make love, not lofts.
More about Ilka Ruby
Ilka studied architecture at RWTH Aachen and TU Vienna. Together with her partner Andreas Ruby, she founded textbild, an office for architectural communication, and Ruby Press, a publishing house with a focus on architecture, art, and other cultural practices engaged in the production of space.
Through Ruby Press, the two have produced award winning books such as Reasons for Walling a House (2012), Building Brazil! (2011), City of God—Cidade de Deus! (2013), Architecture Reading Aid Ahmedabad (2015), and Housing Cairo (2016). In addition to their intense publishing activities, they realised a number of curatorial projects, such as the video installation Endless Bauhaus, part of the Modell Bauhaus exhibition at the Martin Gropius Bau in Berlin (2009); the exhibition Druot, Lacaton & Vassal—Tour Bois le Prêtre for the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt (2012); Treasures in Disguise, the Pavilion representing Montenegro at the 14th Architecture Biennale in Venice (2014); Never Demolish for the Copenhagen Architecture Festival (2017); and Together! The New Architecture of the Collective (2017) at the Vitra Design Museum. Additionally, they have organized several international symposia on architecture and design, including the “Min to Max” symposium on affordable housing (2011).
Ilka Ruby has taught at Cornell University, Berlin University of the Arts, and the Peter Behrens School of Architecture in Düsseldorf.
Find out more about the Housing Europe and Aedes Policy Conference 'Social Housing: looking back, moving forward; embracing change to deliver the future' taking place as part of the International Social Housing Festival on June 15th in Amsterdam and save your seat!
