Victoria Yakusha - Ukrainian Architect-Designer (UKR/EN)
VICTORIA YAKUSHA (UKR and EN)
Talk with the designer-architect, UNESCO and ICONEM on protecting Ukrainian cultural heritage
14.09.2022 / 8.15pm
Victoria Yakusha, an internationally acclaimed architect-designer from Ukraine, will present her work rooted in Ukrainian culture and identity. Louise Haxthausen, Head of UNESCO Brussels Liaison Office and Representation to the European Union, will talk about the link between design, architecture, national identity and armed conflict. Yves Ubelmann, architect and founder of ICONEM, a company specialising in 3D imaging of threatened sites, will share how he, and his team, can assist in protecting cultural heritage in zones of conflict.
Together, they will discuss how design and architecture can play a central role in saving and rebuilding a nation.
Lecture in partnership with Umanoa, Elevating Contemporary Art & Design, www.umanoa.com
Victoria Yakusha is a Ukrainian designer-architect, and artist, whose unique philosophy of « live design » centers on a deep connection to earth and cultural roots. Since starting her architectural studio Yakusha in 2006, and the design brand, FAINA, in 2014, she has emerged as one of the leading voices of contemporary Ukrainian design.
Over the years her designs have been exhibited at Design Miami/ Basel, Collectible Fair, Venice Biennale, Paris Design Week, Stockholm Design Week, Milan Design Week, etc.
In 2019, Victoria Yakusha was named Designer of the Year by Elle Decoration International Design Awards, Ukraine.
In 2021, she opened FAINA, Gallery of live Ukrainian design, in Antwerp, Belgium.
Louise Haxthausen, Director, UNESCO, Liaison and Representation Office to the European Union :
Prior to becoming Director of the UNESCO Office in Brussels in 2019, Ms. Haxthausen, whose academic background is in politics and law, has had a career of more than thirty years at UNESCO in the areas of culture and human rights. The main focus of her work has been conflict and crisis situations, particularly in the Middle-East. As Director Principal, Ms. Haxthausen coordinated dossiers in Afghanistan and Palestine. More recently, Ms. Haxthausen was Director of the UNESCO office in Bagdad, Irak.
Yves Ubelmann, President and co-founder of ICONEM:
After having studied architecture, Yves Ubelmann first worked as an independent architect in Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. This gave him the opportunity to survey, and analyse, a variety of archeological sites.
In 2013, M. Ubelmann founded Iconem, a company specialising in the digitisation of endangered heritage sites. The company has so far worked in more than 30 countries, combining 3D scanning techniques with the use of drones, to document, raise awareness and contribute to preservation and reconstruction efforts.
Iconem’s work includes sites in conflict, and post-conflict, areas of Afghanistan, Syria, Cambodia, Irak and, more recently, visits began in Ukraine. Missions are carried out on behalf of international institutions (including UNESCO, World Bank, UNOSAT), major museum or archaeological institutions and government bodies.
