Freek Persyn and Falma Fshazi explore design and how it is grounded in specific rural and urban sites, as part of Toolkit for Today: In the Planetary Field. They question the difference between architects and social scientists in their relation to a site by analysing a renovated environment in the city of Tirana, Albania, Skanderbeg Square, and an environment waiting to be renovated, the Palace of Brigades. Drawing on recent studio work at the ETH, they will share research which suggests how both cases highlight the enhanced capacity to unearth voices, visions, imaginaries, representations that can lead to a new multitude of subjects, agencies, identifications, citizenships, relationships, and intentions.

Freek Persyn is co-founder of the office 51N4E, a spatial design practice focused on urban and social transformation. The work of 51N4E received the most attention for its adaptive reuse projects in Central Europe and for its intense engagement with Albania. Since 2019, Freek combines his partnership at 51N4E with the professorship of Architecture and Urban Transformation at the ETH Zürich.

Dr. Falma Fshazi holds a PhD in History and Civilisations from Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales Paris and is Maître de Conference in Social Sciences. She has been working in research and teaching in departments of history, political science and anthropology in Istanbul and Paris. Her career has extended into administration and collaboration with artists through the position of Director of Communication and Research and co-founder of the Center for Openness and Dialogue in the Albanian PM Office. Her themes of research have been city and citizenship activism, urban youth representations, cultural policies and institutionalisation.

This seminar is free and open to the public. To register, click here.