The suburbs are all the rage, lately! On April 23rd, Fellow John Hartmann participated in Welcome to Future Suburbia: Open House 2011, a tour of retrofitted houses in Long Island proto-burb Levittown. The event, organized by Droog and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, featured ten stops–one of which featured Bright Dawn Farm (pictured at left), a home that Hartmann’s firm Freecell transformed into a “greenhouse-like environment.” Meanwhile, back in Manhattan, MoMA announced the launch of Foreclosed: Rehousing the American Dream, a 14-month project in which five collaborative design teams will work to address mass foreclosures in “megaregions” around the US. The selection committee for the teams included Fellow June Williamson, author of the book Retrofitting Suburbia.
Fellows Envision the Future of Suburbia
Monday, May 9th, 2011Architecture of Social Investment Competition
Monday, October 11th, 2010The IfUD’s friends at Urbaninform are a part of MoMA’s Small Scale, Big Change: The Architectures of Social Engagement, and have launched a parallel competition, The Architecture of Social Investment. They are looking for design projects that empower individuals and communities to become economically independent; initiatives should be realized or developed to the level of being implemented. Submissions are due by November 1st, 2010.
Columbia’s GSAPP Stages Summer Lectures
Thursday, July 8th, 2010
The Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning, and Preservation’s summer lecture series will feature two Institute-relevant events in July: those of you who enjoyed our May 6th Breakfast Club on MoMA’s Rising Currents show may be interested to know that Columbia faculty from three of the design teams (nARCHITECTS, Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis, and SCAPE) will discuss their participation in the show at 12:00 PM on Wednesday, July 21; and at 12:30 PM on Wednesday, July 28, IfUD Fellow Kate Orff will take part in a discussion with artist Mary Miss on the City as a Living Laboratory.
8th Breakfast Club
Thursday, May 6th, 2010
Institute fellows gathered at the Center for Architecture in New York this morning for the eighth Breakfast Club, which brought together representatives of all five of the design teams from MoMA’s Rising Currents and members of the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The USACE opened with a discussion of the political realities of getting things done on the ground, and Guy Nordenson of Guy Nordenson & Associates gave a brief presentation on the proposals generated by the design teams. A lively conversation between both sides and Institute fellows followed. Take a look at our Facebook page for photos of the event.
Finally, a big thanks goes out to all of the presenters: Ben Abelman (SCAPE), Matthew Baird (Matthew Baird Architects), Stephen Cassell (ARO), Steve Couch (USACE), Donald Cresitello (USACE), Susannah Drake (dLand Studio), Dr. Thomas J. Hodson (USACE), Noah Levy (nARCHITECTS), Guy Nordenson (Guy Nordenson & Associates), and Gena Wirth (SCAPE).
Click for all posts on the Breakfast Club series.
Denise Scott Brown: New Book, Talk, Discussion
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
Following a talk about her new book, Having Words, Institute patron Denise Scott Brown will be joined by architects Sarah Whiting and Hilary Sample for a panel discussion moderated by Paola Antonelli, senior curator of architecture and design at MoMA on Thursday, November 12th at 6:30pm at Urban Center Books. The event is free but reservations are required.
