On July 21st, 2016, Professor Giuseppe Fallacara from the Polytechnic of Bari in Italy will deliver a lecture on “Stone architecture: new research and design” at NUST MISIS. Professor Fallacara is a recognized expert in the modern use of stone architecture, as well as both theoretical and practical stereotomy.
Giuseppe Fallacara is known for his unusual interpretations of architectural objects from history, often challenging both how and why things were built. One of Fallacara’s signature pieces is dedicated to the Castel del Monte located in the Apulia region of Southeastern Italy. Analyzing the external architecture and internal structure of the castle and examining some relevant medieval manuscripts, Fallacara proposes a new and interesting interpretation of why the Castel del Monte was built and how the people used it. In his work Giuseppe Fallacara refers to one of history’s most mysterious documents—the Voynich manuscript.
Professor Fallacara will take us on an explorative journey from the practical and magnificent works of stereotomy in our architectural past to the aesthetic sensibilities and understandings enabled by new technological tools to create modern stone architecture. He uses archeological remnants to trace man’s historical methods of working with stone back to prehistorical hand tools and simple geometric methods, up to architecture representing extraordinary levels of intellectual and engineering achievement. He proposes entirely new and practical means of conceiving and constructing in stone by harnessing solid modeling software and robotic production tools.
Giuseppe Fallacara is an Associate Professor of Architectural Design in the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture (DICAR) at the Polytechnic of Bari, where he teaches Architectural Design and Stereotomy.
In 2014, according to the international Scimago Ranking, the Polytechnic of Bari was recognized as the best public university in Italy in the field of research. The university`s Faculty of Architecture is considered one of the best in Europe.
From 2004 on Professor Fallacara has been conducting research on architectural design in the Mediterranean area. He has published numerous scientific articles about the subject, most notably: "Lithic Tree: A search for Natural Stereotomy“(2014), “Stereotomy: Stone Architecture and New Research” (2012), and “Plaited Stereotomy — Stone Vaults for the Modern World” (2008).
He has acted as a Visiting Professor at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture in Paris, ETSAM — Madrid, Université des Sciences Techniques et Economiques de Budapest, and ISCTE Lisboa, as well as being an Associate Researcher at the GSA laboratory at Paris-Malaquais.
His research is focused on revisiting stone architecture, with particular attention to stereotomy’s theoretical and practical features. The most representative book on the subject is “Stereotomy: Stone Architecture and New Research” published in 2012 by the prestigious Press des Ponts in Paris.
Professor Giuseppe Fallacara will visit NUST MISIS on the personal invitation of Yuri Estrin, the head of the NUST MISIS Laboratory of Hybrid Nanostructured Materials. They started to collaborate during the cooperation between the Polytechnic of Bari and Monash University in Melbourne. Professor Fallacara`s visit to Moscow will contribute to NUST MISIS’s involvement in this global cooperation.
The lecture will be held in Italian with simultaneous translation.
Moscow, NUST MISIS, Leninskiy prospekt, 4, Lecture hall B-636
21 July, 2016
4 p.m.
Media Accreditation:
e-mail: press@misis.ru
