Atlanta in 2108: Merging DNA with Architecture January 12, 2010

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/09/25/The_Philosophy_of_Organic_Design

Matthias Hollwich, founder of the concept design firm HWKN, discusses his far-seeing project to envision Atlanta in the year 2108. Hollwich believes that, in the near future, scientists will be able to merge DNA into architectural design to create autonomous self-reproducing buildings.

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Organic design is a philosophy of design that respects the users is influence by nature, recognizes the process of evolution and is holistic in its approach. This panel of architects and designers talks about what is required to practice organic design and the importance of energy conservation, natural materials and renewable resources in modern buildings.

The panelists include Usman Haque, CEO of Connected Environments Ltd. and founder of Pachube.com, Rachel Armstrong, TED Global Fellow and Teaching Fellow at the Bartlett School of Architecture, and Matthias Hollwich, Architect and founder of HWKN. - PICNIC 2009

Matthias Hollwich is the co-founder of Hollwich Kushner (HWKN), a New York City based architecture and concept design firm. The office deploys targeted research and fast-footed development to create innovative and responsible projects that exist at the intersection of client, user, and nature.

Current projects include a retirement village for priests in Cote d'Ivoire, 2 large-scale apartment renovations on New York's Upper East Side, the Favella Formiga Open Air Theater in Rio de Janeiro, and ongoing work with the Obama Administration on the rehabilitation of the Sasha Bruce House in Washington DC.

From 1999-2001, Hollwich was assistant professor at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland 1999 - 2001 and part of the Bauhaus Dessau Werkstaedte between 2002 and 2006. In 2004 he finished editing his first book with Rainer Weisbach at the Bauhaus: UmBauhaus - Updating Modernism. He most recently took part in the PICNIC lecture series in Amsterdam and is a contributor to the forthcoming IBA 2010 Urban Redevelopment program for the Dessau region.