Lecture Series Focuses on Responsibilities of Architects and Designers

Written by: Evan Koblentz
Published: Thursday, September 24, 2020
Paracas Museum, in Peru, which Barclay and Crousse helped design

This semester's lecture series from Hillier College of Architecture and Design emphasizes themes of responsibility for architects and designers in the context of current events such as COVID-19, economic inequality, global warming, political upheaval and social justice.

Each lecture includes a presentation and moderated discussion, addressing a specific question inspired by current events. Each lecture also features participants from different continents, explained Professor Georgeen Theodore who co-organized the series with University Lecturer Ana Penalba Estabanez.

"When Ana and I started planning the series last spring, we were at the beginning of the quarantine, at the start of the pandemic. At the end of May, George Floyd was murdered, which started the protests in the Black Lives Matter movement," Theodore observed. They asked themselves how to make the lecture series relevant.

She said the questions of how architects and designers should respond to these issues, and what is their responsibility, helped make the series theme clear. However, with the series entirely online due to COVID, she said they also wanted to freshen the approach. That led to the worldwide focus and a live-interview format, rather than traditional lectures or panel discussions.

The first lecture, held September 14, featured Felipe Correa, chair of the architecture department at the University of Virginia, and South American firm Barclay & Crousse. They addressed the question of what can the building culture in developing countries teach us about resilience in the era of climate change.

"Sandra Barclay and Jean-Pierre Crousse presented several projects, including the Edificio E, the winner of the 2018 Mies Crown Hall Americas Prize. They discussed the importance of looking closely at local building culture for clues about how to build resiliently in an era of climate change," Theodore added.

The second, which was September 21, focused on North America and highlighted University of California / Berkeley Professor Ronald Rael interviewed by Texas Tech University Assistant Professor Ersela Kripa, who graduated from NJIT in 2002. Their topic was how to leverage technology to strengthen indigenous and traditional material practices.

So far, Theodore said she's been pleased with how the new format is working with shorter presentations and longer live conversations. "It was a great antidote to these really long Zoom calls where you feel distant from what's on the screen," she noted.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the semester:

  • September 28, 5:00. Focus: Africa and Europe. Speakers: Architect Diébédo Francis Kéré (Berlin) in conversation with Professor Andres Lepik (Technical University of Munich). Topic: How can design contribute to community building?
  • October 26, 5:00. Focus: Oceania. Speakers: Architects Daliana Suryawinata and Florian Heinzelmann (Indonesia) in conversation with architect David Neustein (Sydney). Topic: How can architects create contemporary buildings that simultaneously reflect local construction practices?
  • November 2, 7:30. Focus: Asia. Speakers: architect Liu Jiakun (Chengdu, China) in conversation with architect and professor Doreen Heng Liu (Shenzhen, China). Topic: What is the architect’s role in rebuilding after disaster?
  • November 9, 5:00. Focus: Europe. Speakers: Architects Christoph Schäfer and Renée Tribble (Hamburg, Germany) in conversation with ARCH+ editor Anh-Linh Ngo (Berlin). Topic: Can design change society?

Hillier is also hosting a lecture for their Design Showcase event on October 8. The speaker is Bryan C. Lee, Jr. of the class of 2008, who founded New Orleans-based Colloqate Design and advocates for social causes through architecture. He will address the question of what is justice in the built environment.

Lectures are free and open to the public. Hillier College Evening Lecture Series is registered with the AIA Continuing Education System and offers learning units which may be self-reported. Hillier's New Jersey School of Architecture is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board.