Encounters by Design

François-Luc Giraldeau is a Canadian editor who trained as an architect before moving away from the conventional practice of architecture to indulge in a variety of editorial and curatorial pursuits. Upon completing his graduate studies, he has continued to gain both practical experience and substantive knowledge through placements, projects, and programs spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He currently oversees the development of a diverse collection of cultural publications, managing all aspects of their creation, from commissioning through to publishing. His work is often credited with successfully breaking down complex notions for a general audience, thus creating accessible content that upholds the integrity of each discipline.

Erika Brandl is a Montreal-born architect based in Bergen, Norway. She was trained in France (Clermont-Ferrand) and Canada (Montreal), having received a Masters degree in Architecture from McGill University in 2015. She acquired office experiences in Montreal and Vienna, where she developed an expertize in representation and the formal resolution of community housing and small-scale cultural institution projects. Erika was an invited teacher in Canada, France, Denmark and Norway, where she co-ran undergraduate and graduate studios. Erika is currently employed as a project architect at 3RW arkiteker (Bergen). She pursues ongoing design works relating to vernacular and post-industrial forms in Los Angeles, California; London, England; and Antwerp, Belgium. Her architectural research seeks to find potential in the encounter of contemporary design and the historical city, cross-examining notions of ornamental traditions and typologies. In addition to her design work, she completed a Masters degree in philosophy at the University of Bergen and the University of Copenhagen (2020), where she led works on home phenomenology, environmental ethics and human rights and dignity. She joined the University of Bergen’s doctoral program at the Department of Philosophy in 2022.