Stuckeman School launches lectures with visit from Hungarian design studio

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Stuckeman School in the College of Arts and Architecture at Penn State opens its fall lectures at 4 p.m. on Sept. 23 with a visit from Paradigma Ariadné, an interdisciplinary design practice based in Budapest, Hungary, in the Stuckeman Family Building Jury Space.

Titled “Awareness of the Drawn Nature of Architecture in the Works of Paradigma Ariadné,” the lecture will delve into the studio’s interdisciplinary approach to architectural and urban design. The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Department of Architecture and can be joined via Zoom.

Started in 2016 by architects Attila Róbert Csóka, Szabolcs Molnár and Dávid Smiló, Paradigma Ariadné explores not only the design of buildings but also natural landscapes, interior design and publications. The ability to translate the built environment into drawings and back again and the transformation “from the ordinary into the extraordinary” are cornerstones of studio’s collaborative approach to design.

“At Paradigma Ariadné, the greatest emphasis is not on drawing itself or on our drawing technique, but rather on determining what the appropriate mode of translation is at any given moment, how a design takes on a graphic form and when. The lecture presents examples of this act of translation and the related considerations,” Smiló said.

The studio has exhibited in Paris, London, Venice, Vienna and the United States and has seen its work published by The Architectural Review (AR), Domus, PLOT and Zeppelin. In 2024, the practice was shortlisted for the AR Emerging Architecture Award.

Clients of the studio include individuals, institutions, companies and local governments. In addition to architectural and urban design services, the studio offers strategic guidance and “cultural management regarding space-related issues to its clients.”