Research

Agent of Change – Lesia Topolnyk

2023

The International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam is establishing a number of longer lines of research and has appointed so-called Agents of Change for this purpose. These researchers focus on the effects and (spatial) consequences of a changing world. These Agents of Change are given the space to reflect on and further explore specific themes and (research) areas that have not yet landed at the center of the discipline, in order tosubsequently find their way into the public debate. In this way, they catalyze, nourish, and renew architecture.

For the coming period, the architect and winner of the Prix de Rome 2022, Lesia Topolnyk, has been approached to work on a research project.

Research by

- Lesia Topolnyk

Background (research) project

The research of Lesia Topolnyk pivots on the changing global political arenas enforces by climate change and will investigate their local and spacial impacts. The Marocan city of Tangier serves as her starting point. She will delve deeper into how diverse actors and local cultures are under influence of global forces often historically created systems of oppression and relations. Where could architecture be used as a guiding tool to create connections between different scales and how can the designer respond to these new large-scale challenges in a way that would strengthen them instead of destroying them?

This research will allow her to expand her knowledge beyond the European lens to include different political contexts and current relations between Africa and Europe.