You’ll enjoy two inspiring keynotes at this year’s Architecture Exchange East, Nov. 4-6, 2015, in Richmond.
On Thursday, we’ll hear from Andrew Freear.
Andrew Freear, from Yorkshire, England, is the Wiatt Professor at Auburn University Rural Studio. After the untimely death of Samuel Mockbee, he became the Director of the Studio in 2002.
For sixteen years Freear has lived in the small rural community of Newbern, West Alabama where his main role, aside from directing Rural Studio is project advisor to fifth-year undergraduate students: designing and building charity homes and community projects to improve local conditions.
Freear has designed Rural Studio exhibits in Chicago, Cincinnati, Vienna, Barcelona, 2002 Whitney Biennial, the 2005 Sao Paulo Biennal, the 2008 Venice Biennale and most recently at the V&A in London, and at MOMA NYC. He lectures across the United States and Europe. In contrast, he is a member of the Newbern Volunteer Fire Department in Newbern.
In 2006 Freear was honored with The Ralph Erskine Award, from Sweden, which aspires to promote urban planning and architecture which is functional, economical and beautiful, and which is to the advantage of underprivileged and deprived groups in any society. In 2008 he was a Laureate in the second edition of the Global Awards for Sustainable Architecture.
He has just written a book about the Rural Studio educational process entitled: “Rural Studio at twenty: designing and building in Hale County, Alabama.
And on Friday, we’ll hear from David Zach.
The future depends upon design – and designers need to understand how important their role is in building that future. Some have said that the future requires us to be open to change, but futurist David Zach disagrees. It’s not that simple. To design and build a better future, we have to hold on to the best of the past and make sure we learn from the lessons of history. To believe that everything can change, that nothing is permanent, is to believe that we have learned nothing.
Design and logistics are now at the center of the economy and these two forces are both clashing and cooperating to create an explosion of innovation. The boundaries between design occupations are fading. Design professionals are not only taking their talents into other realms, so those other realms are poaching into theirs too. 3D printing could help spark a manufacturing renaissance and the reindustrialization of America. Virtual design could have many people not caring for the built environment. The down sourcing of design talent into a variety of inexpensive apps raises questions, for instance: Can designers be automated? (Brief answer: No. Not the good ones.) It also raises questions about what will define a design professional in the 21st century.
This is the most exciting time to be an architect at the intersection of logistics and design. You’ve got questions about the future and your careers? David does too. Join him on Friday for this poignant discussion.
David Zach is a futurist who have given over 1,500 talks throughout North America and Europe. He was the 2010-2013 Public Director on the AIA National Board. In 2012, he received a Presidential Citation from AIAS for his work with Emerging Professionals. He loves architecture and design. He’s hopeful about architects.
Registration for Architecture Exchange East opens soon!