Rotor at Columbia GSAPP: Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture

The Brussels-based collective Rotor has been invited to speak at the Paul S. Byard Memorial Lecture at the Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP).

Victor Meesters and Tom Schoonjans will present the collective’s work, followed by a discussion with Jorge Otero-Pailos (Columbia GSAPP, Jorge Otero-Pailos Studio).

Rotor: a practice of deconstruction

Founded in Brussels in 2005, Rotor has developed a committed practice addressing issues of resources, waste and obsolescence within the building sector. Through applied research projects, exhibitions, publications and lectures, the collective actively contributes to rethinking the modes of production and transformation of the built environment.

Their participation in the 12th International Architecture Exhibition of the Venice Biennale in 2010, with Usus/Usures, already signalled this direction: the exhibition explored wear as both the result of use and a creative potential in architecture. In 2013, Rotor curated the Oslo Architecture Triennale with Behind the Green Door, an exhibition dedicated to the contemporary challenges of sustainable architecture.

Alongside these curatorial initiatives, Rotor regularly intervenes within existing buildings and, in 2015, established Rotor Deconstruction, a dedicated entity focused on dismantling and reselling building components sourced from structures slated for demolition. Their commitment to reuse was recognised with the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture, under the patronage of UNESCO.

Since 2018, the collective has also led the Interreg NWE programmes (FCRBE and PREUSE), aimed at increasing the circulation and integration of reclaimed building elements within the European construction sector.

Practical information

Lecture: Tuesday 17 February at 6:30 pm
Location: 114 Avery Hall, GSAPP Campus

Further details are available on the dedicated website.