Speakers of 2026
In order of appearance
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Michelle Sofge (US)
Chief editor of the Classic Planning Herald and Researcher at T.U. Berlin, Sofge challenges the idea of "authenticity” in her striking analysis of the Frankfurt Old Town reconstruction.
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Timothy Smith (UK)
Architect, professor and co-founder of the award-winning studio Smith & Taylor, Smith leads a design course on classical architecture at Kingston School of Art in London.
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Elisabeth Seip (NO)
Architect, Author and Professor at AHO, Seip delves into the early history of architectural education in Norway and how it might serve as inspiration for future architectural pedagogy.
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Alexandros Lavdas (GR)
Neuroscientist and Senior Researcher at Eurac Research, Lavdas delves into the biological realm of how our built environment affects us while providing groundbreaking tools that allow us to create healthy spaces and cities.
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Jan Ryden Bonmot (SE)
Artist, Researcher and Author of “A Humanistic Classicism”, Bonmot explores the circumstances that defined Nordic social housing in the 1920s when beauty still was an important ideal of everyday architecture.
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Roman Pastoors (DE)
Managing Director at RALF SCHMITZ GmbH, known for their many beautiful new classical developments across Germany, Pastoors breaks down common myths and reveals how it’s fully possible to build new classical architecture today.
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Michael Hadida
Founder of The New Agora together with Thomas Flemming of the Norwegian Architectural Uprising – a digital platform that organizes, connects, and promotes the movement for beauty in the built environment.
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Kjartan M. Andreassen (NO)
Leader of Bergen Center Party, known for successfully passing a motion to reshape the city's architectural strategy, and currently serving as a political advisor for the majority coalition.
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Robert Kwolek (UK)
Senior architectural designer at CREATE STREETS, Kwolek explores how public participation, science and timeless knowledge can be combined in order to help us create beautiful and sustainable cities for the future.
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Russell Taylor (UK)
Architect and founder of Russell Taylor Architects, Taylor is a strong advocate for new classical architecture, using his unique knowledge to create beautiful buildings that have a sense of continuity with the past.
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Magnus Vartdal (NO)
Blacksmith and stonemason at the Nidaros Cathedral, Vartdal creates new gothic ornaments for the 21st century. He is also one of the craftspeople behind the recent winning proposal for the cathedral’s new doors.
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Pablo Álvarez Funes (ES)
Spanish architect and interior designer based in London, serving as Associate Director at Katharine Pooley Ltd and Director of Education at the Classic Planning Institute.
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Clunie Fretton (UK)
Classically trained sculptor, carver & gilder, Fretton is conversant in both wood and stone carving, as well as a range of other materials including bronze, plaster and synthetic casting materials
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Akira Inman (CA)
Professional stonecarver at Stavanger Domkirke, Inman holds unique insights into the world of crafts and skills that allow him to shape stone to his will.
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Chris Pennock (UK)
Highly experienced stonemason and researcher, based at Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Workshop. Chris is the leading expert on lime mortar and its unparalleled properties in stone construction
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Erika Wörman (SE)
Architect and urban planner at P.A.C.E., Wörman specializes in traditional urban planning fit for a Nordic climate, continuing the tradition of garden cities to create beautiful and sustainable towns.
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Kerstin Barup & Mats Edström (SE)
Architects and architectural historians at KTH, Barup and Edström explores how traditional architecture education and travelling shaped the eccentric fin de siecle architecture of Sweden.
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Branko Mitrovic
Scholar of architectural history and theory at NTNU, holds PhDs in both architecture and philosophy. Branko has authored ten books, one of which received the Humboldt Research Award.
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Lars Anders Johansson
Swedish author, journalist and poet, writing on architecture, urban planning and the history of cities, from a cultural and historical perspective. He hosts the podcast Budoarstämning