Urban Transformations through Exceptional Architecture

Nadia Alaily-Mattar is currently Research Felllow at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment of Delft University of Technology, Netherlands, funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. She is a Research and Teaching Associate at the Chair of Urban Development of the Department of Architecture, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany. She is a trained architect, graduate of the American University of Beirut. She received her Master's degree in Housing and Urban Regeneration from the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK, and her PhD in Planning Studies from the University College of London. Her research interests revolve around star architecture and its media effects, the narrative performance of architecture, futures oriented urban planning and the role of architecture in urban development. Together with Alain Thierstein and Davide Ponzini she has co-edited the book About Star Architecture: Reflecting on Cities in Europe.

Alain Thierstein is Full Professor for Urban Development at the Department of Architecture, Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Germany. He also is affiliated with the consultancy of EBP Schweiz AG, Zurich as partner and senior consultant in the area of urban and regional economic development. He received his Master degree and PhD in Economics from the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland. He is involved in research on urban and metropolitan development; spatial impact of the knowledge economy, in particular the visualisation of non-physical company relationships as well as spatial interaction of locational choices for residence, work and mobility; and the role of star architecture for repositioning medium sized cities. His work is extensively published internationally.