November Talks 2026

Architecture between Classical Rigour and Critical Mannerism

Badoer, aula Tafuri

Curated by Fernanda De Maio, Daniela Ruggeri

Four conversations on architecture: four stories and as many experiences that explore the discipline between classical rigour and critical mannerism. These are two cultural orientations conventionally seen as opposites, yet it is precisely in Italy that they have found real places and geographies in which to take shape, and to betray themselves, through centuries of material history and city-building. Within this thematic framework, today’s designers, whose work shapes the urban horizon, public space and the landscape, are invited to reflect on architecture as a language capable of building and symbolically representing both contexts and the communities that inhabit them.

The November Talks return to the Università Iuav di Venezia. Organised in collaboration with the Sto Stiftung and under the patronage of the Ordine degli Architetti PPC della Provincia di Venezia, the lecture series will bring together architects and practices with well-established professional experience to present their approach to the profession. The debate will focus on the transformations driven by pressing environmental and urban issues, as well as by the digital revolution, which is profoundly changing the ways architecture is designed and communicated. This year, Matilde Cassani, Marco Contini, Giulia de Appolonia and Vincenzo Latina will be in dialogue with the curators and present their vision.

The series is also supported by the participation of the PhD programme in Architectural Composition at Iuav. Conceived and supported by the Sto Stiftung, the November Talks take place simultaneously at several European universities, each with its own guests. The Università Iuav di Venezia includes the talks in its elective course offering: attendance carries 2 ECTS credits (type D), subject to completion of the activities specified below.

Finally, the talks will provide an occasion to present several issues of the journal Engramma devoted to architecture. The four volumes, selected specifically for this lecture series, will be introduced by their respective editors and authors.

Programme:

5 November – Marco Contini

10 November – Vincenzo Latina

19 November – Matilde Cassani

3 December – Giulia de Appolonia 
 

Requirements for 2 ECTS credits (type D)
Students will be awarded 2 ECTS credits (type D) provided that they:
– register for the lecture series through the Google Form available on this page;
– attend all four lectures (attendance will be recorded by signature in the lecture hall);
– submit a paper in Italian or English (Layout provided by the teaching team), including sketches and photographs, in a maximum 10-megabyte PDF file.

Admission: free, advance booking required via Google form.

For more Information: novembertalksiuav2026@gmail.com