22nd Karlsruhe Dialogues - Speakers

Prof. Dr. Paola Viganò

Prof. Dr. Paola Viganò has a PhD in Architecture and is professor of Urban Theory and Urban Design at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), where she directs the Laboratory of Urbanism (Lab-U), and she is also professor at the Università Iuav in Venice. She was guest and visiting professor at several European schools of architecture, such as the Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2012 and 2013, and the University of Virginia in 2017. Viganò deals with the latest concepts of urban planning and confronts them with the basic principles of contemporary cities, such as sustainability and cultural preservation. In 2013, she was the first woman to receive the Grand Prix de l'Urbanisme in France. In 2016, she was awarded the honorary degree of ‘Doctor Honoris Causa’ by the Université Catholique de Louvain, and in 2017, Viganò received the Flemish Culture Award for Architecture (Ultima Architectuur). Together with Bernardo Secchi, she founded an office for architecture and urban planning, called ‘Studio’, in 1990. Until 2014, within the scope of Studio, they worked on various projects at different scales in Europe and won several international competitions, such as the large-scale projects Grand Paris in 2009, New Moscow in 2012, and Brussels 2040 in 2011 and 2012. Since 2014, Viganò has been successfully continuing the work of Studio with Studio Paola Viganò. Her recent major publications include Territories of Urbanism. The Project as Knowledge Producer (2016) and Territorialism (2014).