“Beginning at the End” Wednesday, January 14th, 5:00p.m. est EMPAC Theater Rensselaer Architecture kicks off its spring 2026 lecture series this Wednesday, January 14th at 5p.m. est with the lecture “Beginning at the End” by Levent Ozruh. Levent Ozruh is the founder and director of OZRUH, a London-based architectural studio exploring material-driven, adaptive design through research-led practice. His work challenges conventional architectural permanence by developing systems that evolve through change – bridging advanced manufacturing, elemental material cycles, and open-ended spatial strategies. OZRUH is deeply inspired by the principles of evolution and diversity in nature, driving us to venture beyond the traditional confines of manual and analog human creativity. Their pursuit is aimed at harnessing the intrinsic diversity and richness offered by nature’s evolutionary processes, proposing an architectural ethos that is pluralistic rather than idealistic. Ozruh works through algorithmic design and custom fabrication to develop systems that emerge from matter, not impose form onto it. By simulating physical behaviours – like erosion, aggregation, or decay – the studio grows architectures that adapt, recombine, and mature over time. Ozruh is a Design Expert at the UK Design Council, advising on national priorities in sustainable innovation, and has contributed to the European Space Agency’s lunar architecture strategy as part of Hassell’s Space Architecture team. His design research has been exhibited internationally, including at the Venice Biennale, Barbican Centre, Royal Academy of Arts, and the London Design Festival. Ozruh studied architecture at University of Edinburgh, the Bartlett (UCL), and the AA School of Architecture. He has conducted research at MIT’s Senseable City Lab and taught across leading academic institutions, including the Bartlett, IAAC, and the Architectural Association, where he currently directs the Moonshot Visiting School. https://ozruh.co.uk/