Roadtrip (15)! Kent State University Lecture Series (Spring 2010)

Kent State University has just posted their 2010 Spring Lecture Series (and the first one is coming right on up!)

Elena Manferdini
Design Is One
February 09, 2010 7:30 pm
Michael Schwartz Auditorium

Mark Foster Gage
Computation, Aesthetics & the Contemporary Baroque
February 23, 2010 7:00 pm
Cartwright Auditorium

Hansey Barraza
Studio Luz
March 10, 2010 7:00 pm
Cartwright Auditorium

Stephen Cassell
Architecture Research Office: Recent & Future Work
March 17, 2010 7:00 pm
Cartwright Auditorium

Andrea Ponsi
Florence: A Map of Perceptions
March 25, 2010 7:30 pm
Michael Schwartz Auditorium

All lectures are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Visitor Parking for Cartwright Auditorium can be accessed off Terrace Drive. Visitor Parking for the Michael Schwartz Auditorium can be accessed off East Summit Street. For more information, please contact the College of Architecture & Environmental Design at 330 672 2917.

Cleveland Planning Commission Meeting - bike on a muthaf-ing bridge!

I never did see Snakes on a Plane, however if you have any interest in advocating for a cycling/pedestrian path on the innerbelt bridge because you are one of the people who live near and go to downtown Cleveland you may want to stop in at this Friday's Cleveland Planning Commission Meeting and show your support or voice your concern. Friday, February 5th.

Cleveland Planning Commission Meeting
601 Lakeside Avenue East Cleveland, OH 44114-1078
9am - 11.30am

Cleveland City Planning Commission meeting February 5th, 2010 9am Cleveland City Hall - Room 514 Agenda:An Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT)representative will be present to address questions or concerns regarding the multi-purpose trail as a design alternative on the Innerbelt bridge.

The representative's presence is a direct result of discussions between advocates and Commision members during the Jan 22 meeting.

Agenda online: http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/schedule.shtml

your bike/innerbelt bridge news source: green city blue lake

Asterios Polyp: David Mazzucchelli

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

A "paper" architect (one who wins recognition for proposals/competitions but not built work) suffers from being overly academic, fatalistically literal in his search for recognizing (what he sees) as design purity and insufferable in having the last word (typically critical) has his past life destroyed by fate, realizes what happiness he sacrificed to further his own self-satisfied identity and finally admits his ability to be incorrect in an attempt to regain his humanity.

What more could I say? It is sort of a fable for today's over critical designer. What is lost when snarky commentary replaces helpful critique? How much is sacrificed when one exists in a world where only your own view is valid? How can beauty be judged?

Like most graphic novels there is so much more than the story telling, there is the graphical work consisting of elegantly simple drawings depicting stylistic changes to accentuate how our memories of events are a retelling of stories colored by our own emotion. The layers of stories, current lines interjected with memories as the main character, Asterios, struggles to comes to terms with how his life has resulted in its current state, allows one to trace the slow development of his emerging humanity as he crawls forth from a defensive shell of hyper-evaluation used to ascertain his own superiority (and of course how he got there in the first place).

Of course it isn't just Asterios whom makes the story fascinating, there is a whole realm of characters, at times caricatures of society, exploring the confounding interactions between these disparate groups and deftly illustrating that life, like architecture, is most interesting where dissimilarities occur.

It was a quick read and actually quite good that would make a fantastic gift for anyone slowing slipping into the world of becoming a self-contained and annoying self referential bastard. I admit, I recognized bits of myself in there.

Discourse

Discourse is one of those things older people and professors talk about when they wax poetic about how good ideas are the result of collaboration, civil discussion and a willingness to expand beyond your own preconceptions to willingly accept another's beliefs even if you cannot fully support them.

It also makes conversation interesting.

Cleveland Design Competition Reception

Cleveland Design Competition Reception
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Colonial Marketplace, 530 Euclid Ave. Cleveland, Ohio
enter from Euclid side
6pm - 9pm

Reception Page:
6:00pm Light hors d'oeuvres (catered by The Greenhouse Tavern) and Project 2009: Lakefront Station Design Ideas Exhibit
7:00pm Welcome
7:10pm Introduction by Councilman Joe Cimperman, City of Cleveland
7:25pm Announcement of the Awards by Kathryn Lincoln, Chair of the Board of Directors, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
9:00pm Awards Reception Conclusion

This reception is open to the public.

If you have any questions about the reception, please do not hesitate to email us at reception@clevelandcompetition.com.

Roadtrip (14)! - University of Buffalo - Spring 2010

University of Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning posted their spring 2010 lecture series. 3 hours from Cleveland makes it an easy drive to see a city that is so remarkably similar to Cleveland (albeit their downtown seems a little more lively) and catching a decent lecture just adds a bonus.

Spring 2010

Lectures

All Lectures begin at 5:30 pm in Crosby 301 unless otherwise noted.

• 01.20.10 Gallery Talk

  The Richmond Olympic Oval exhibit is now on display in the Hayes Hall Lobby Gallery. A talk will be given on the design process of this ice skating facility for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

  01.26.10 Dr. Donald Shoup, Clarkson Chair in Planning

  Dr. Donald Shoup, Professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, will talk on "The High Cost of Free Parking," the same title as his influential book which is leading a growing number of cities to charge fair market prices for curb parking, dedicate the resulting revenue to finance public services in the metered districts, and reduce or remove off-street parking requirements. This lecture will take place at 5:30 p.m. in thet Hohn Lecture Hall at the Research Studies Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo.

01.27.10 Dr. Donald Shoup, Clarkson Chair in Planning

Dr. Donald Shoup, Professor of Urban Planning at the University of California, Los Angeles, has extensively studied parking as a key link between transportation and land use, with important consequences for cities, the economy, and the environment.

02.01.10 Fast + Epp

Duane Palibroda, an associate and general manager at Fast + Epp Structural Engineers in Vancouver, British Columbia, has worked on both commercial and residential projects in Canada, the US, and around the world. Sponsored by the Canadian Consulate General of Buffalo and the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers, the lecture will focus on "Hybrid Structures."

03.17.10 Richard Meier

Richard Meier, managing partner of Richard Meier & Partners Architects, is well known and respected aroud the world and has received numerous awards for his architecture and designs of buildings such as The Getty Center in Los Angeles, the Frankfurt Museum for Decorative Arts in Germany, and the Canal Plus Television Headquarters in Paris. The lecture will take place at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.

03.25.10 Edward Steinfeld

Ed Steinfeld is a professor in architecture inUB's School of Architecture and Planning, the director of the IDEA Center, and the recipient of the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence at UB.

04.07.10 Yves-Alain Bois, Clarkson Chair in Architecture

Yves-Alain Bois is a professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Insitute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ. A collection of his essays, Painting as Model, was published by MIT Press.

More lectures forthcoming...please check back for updates.

View selected lectures

Exhibitions


• 01.11 - 02.06 Richmond Olympic Oval
  Hayes Lobby

• 02.19 - 05.30 Kuitca Exhibit
  Albright-Knox Art Gallery

• 03.28 - 04.17 Freshman Studio
  Anderson Gallery

Lectures and exhibitions supported by: Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Alumni and Friends; Buffalo/WNY AIA; Canadian Council of Forest Ministers; Canadian High Commission; Cannon Design; Clarkson Chair endowment; Hyatt's All Things Creative; Rigidized Metals Corporation;UB AIAS/GSA; UB College of Arts and Sciences; UB School of Architecture and Planning Dean’s Office. AIA continuing education credits available.

Roadtrip (13)! - University of Waterloo (Spring 2010)

University of Waterloo's School of Architecture has posted their Spring 2010 Lecture Series. Remember to bring the proper papers if making the journey from the States (or be willing to find a place to cross at the hundreds of miles of unprotected border that separate our two countries. What? I admit I find the necessity of a passport or special card to travel from Canada to the USA sort of silly. I mean, first off Canada seems pretty dang neighborly and almost an extension (albeit a polite one) of the USA. Sort of like the 51st state. Or we in the States are more like the rude 11th province of Canada, however you want to look at it. Secondly, the important thing is that there are quite a few really good architecture and design schools right across the border that deserve some exploration (without ridiculous hassle). They may be a country away but that isn't logistically far at all (especially from right here in Cleveland).

Roadtrip (12)! - Univ. of Michigan (Spring 2010)

The University of Michigan Taubman College of Architecture has posted their Spring 2010 Lecture/Symposium Series and has quite a few decent events and speakers coming up, enough to warrant yet another trip to Ann Arbor. I haven't found the lecture series poster yet (which for some reason is a big part of the lecture series to me, perhaps I just like marketing, etc.) but as soon as I do find it I will post it for your very own enjoyment.

Lecture Series

Lectures are at 6:30 PM in the A+A Lecture Hall, unless otherwise noted, Room 2104 at the Art and Architecture Building. Events are free and open to the public.

Taubman College Lectures

January 12^th

Gerald Frug
Harvard Law School Louis D. Brandeis Professor of Law
"Designing Government"

January 21^st
7:00 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

Asylum-Inside the Closed World of State Mental Hospitals: Christopher Payne, photographer
Co-sponsored by the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, the Department of English Language and Literature, the Center for the History of Medicine, the Victor Vaughan Society, the Institute for the Humanities, and the Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshops

January 22^nd

Amale Andraos and Dan Wood
WORK Architecture Company principals
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: I

January 26^th

Marion Weiss and Michael Manfredi
Founding partners Weiss/Manfredi
"Sequence/Section"
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: II

February 4^th
Michigan Theater
5:10 PM

Bjarke Ingels
Bjarke Ingles Group (BIG)
"Yes Is More"
Part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series

February 12^th

Mark Dorrian
University of Edinburgh Reader in Architecture, Director of the Master of Architecture Programme
"Clouds of Architecture"

February 18^th

Michael Kyong-il Kim

February 19^th

Keller Easterling
Yale University School of Architecture Associate Professor of Architecture
Wallenberg Studio Lecture Series: III
"Some True Stories"

February 23^rd

Curtis Moody
Moody/Nolan Ltd., Inc., President and CEO
"Challenges of an Architectural Firm"
Co-sponsored by UM National Organization of Minority Architecture Students (NOMAS)

March 9^th

Jefferson Han
Perceptive Pixel, Founder and Chief Scientist

March 11^th
Michigan Theater
5:10 PM

Dayna Baumeister
Biomimicry Institute Co-Founder
"Biomimicry"
Part of the Penny W. Stamps Distinguished Visitor Series

A+A Building
6:30 PM

Sonit Bafna
Assistant Professor, College of Architecture, Georgia Institute of Technology

March 16^th

John Ochsendorf
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Structural Engineer
"Form & Forces"

April 1^st

Zeynep Çelik Alexander
Lecturer, Mellon Post Doctoral Fellow
Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University, NY

April 16^th

Alejandro Aravena
Elemental S.A. Executive Director
The Raoul Wallenberg Lecture

Symposiums

January 19^th
7:00 PM

Urban and Regional Planning Martin Luther King Day Symposium
"Immigration: A Catalyst for Change in American Cities"
Presenters include: Ismael Ahmed, Michigan Department of Human Services Director; Francisco Lara-Valencia, Arizona State University Assistant Professor and Southwest Borderland Scholar; Hussein Samatar, African Development Center of Minnesota Executive Director

January 30^th
1:00 – 4:00 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

"Contemporary Strategies in Documentary Photography" Symposium, Part 1, with Alec Sloth
Co-sponsored with U-M Museum of Art, Office of the Vice President for Research, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, School of Art & Design, Institute for the Humanities, International Institute, Rackham, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Institute for Research on Women & Gender, History, English, American Culture

February 6^th
1:00 – 5:30 PM
University of Michigan Museum of Art

"Contemporary Strategies in Documentary Photography" Symposium, Part 2, with Allan Sekula and Sally Stein
Co-sponsored with U-M Museum of Art, Office of the Vice President for Research, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, School of Art & Design, Institute for the Humanities, International Institute, Rackham, Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies, Institute for Research on Women & Gender, History, English, American Culture

March 19^th & 20^th
Rackham Auditorium

Future of Urbanism Conference

Event Supporters

Guido A. Binda Lecture and Exhibition Fund, John Dinkeloo Memorial Lecture Fund, Raoul Wallenberg Lecture Fund, Frances and Gilbert P. Schafer Visiting Professionals Fund, J. Robert Swanson Fund, Taubman College Enrichment Fund, Taubman College Lecture Fund