The Department of Architecture in the Ramez G. Chagoury Faculty of Architecture, Arts and Design (FAAD) at Notre Dame University-Louaize (NDU) organized on March 9, 2018, a lecture titled, "Natural Materials and Community Involvement: Rethinking Architecture's Place in the World and Society," presented by Antonio Sofan, architect practitioner and founding principal of the design firm studio DOSESE, based in Bogota, Colombia.
Sofan’s talk focused on how the work within his practice has served as a platform to explore a new approach in architecture that combines traditional resources with modern building techniques through innovative construction strategies. The use of local, natural materials, and the integration of the community in the building process drives the architectural concepts of his projects, which are located in several cities throughout Colombia.
In recent years, an increasing interest in the very basics of architecture, such as the experience of occupation, the perception of the human body moving progressively through space as well as processes and performance, has challenged the status of the architectural form, dissolving distinctions between the building and ground, object and field.
This presentation addresses the articulation of materials that respond to the behavior of the human body and its emotions through the implementation of emerging technologies. It is illustrated by a series of projects that cover a range of different scales - from the intimate to the architectural.