On Wednesday, 8 October 2014, a two-part conference was held in the UIC Graduate Hall featuring ceramicist Toni Cumella and Òscar Dalmau, a radio announcer, scriptwriter and popular TV presenter. The conference formed part of the subject in the ASCER Ceramics Chair in Barcelona, which has now been taught at the UIC's ESARQ School of Architecture for 10 years. The Chair is directed by architect Dr. Vicenç Sarrablo, the Director of the School's Technical Area, as well as architects Dr. Jordi Roviras and Cristina García-Castelao.
Each speaker discussed ceramics in architecture from the perspective of his own profession. Òscar Dalmau provided a complete overview of the career of Brazilian ceramicist Athos Bulcâo (who produced the great majority of his works with Oscar Niemeyer) and Toni Cumella presented his most outstanding works and explained how he works with and understands ceramics.
These very different, yet complementary visions kept the audience enthralled for nearly two hours.
Previous guest speakers in the ASCER Ceramics Chair in Barcelona have included renowned professionals such as Carlos Ferrater (OAB), Paredes & Pedrosa, Elena Rocchi (EMBT), Albert Viaplana, Caruso & St. John, Nieto & Sobejano, Javier García-Solera, Juan Herreros, Josep Bohigas (BOPBAA), Bernalte & León, Toni Gironès, Carlos Quintans, Amid (Cero9), Carme Pinós, Fernando Menis, Ruiz-Geli, Barkow & Leibinger, Peter Rich and João Álvaro Rocha. On many occasions, the speakers have also participated in the students' project development process and as jury members in project competitions held to bring the subject to a close at the end of the year.
