The 2017 AIA QUAD Conference is a Great Success

If your office was a little quiet at the end of last week, perhaps your colleagues were participating in the 2017 AIA QUAD States conference in Albany, New York. This program was a joint venture between AIA New Jersey, AIA New York State, AIA Pennsylvania and AIA Connecticut.

 

The evening before the conference, AIA board members from all four participant states were invited to a dinner on Wednesday, the 8th of November.  This event was very well attended by over 80 people. AIA New York State president Robert E. Stark, AIA welcomed all of the guests together with their executive director, Georgi Ann Bailey, CAE.

Thursday morning kicked off with AIA New Jersey members participating in their very well attended board meeting. State president Ben Lee, AIA, presided and welcomed AIA National president Tom Vonier, FAIA, and 2019 national president, William Bates, FAIA, to join the meeting and share their perspectives on the Institute and profession.

At this meeting, AIA New Jersey’s executive director Joseph Simonetta, CAE, gave us a summary of what changes we might anticipate based on the results of the election earlier that week. Our Regional Representative, Bruce Turner, AIA, also provided an update on happenings at National and progress since the last AIA NJ Board meeting. Incoming AIA NJ president, Verity Frizzell, AIA, advised us that she has everything well in-hand for the transition at the end of the year.

 

Seth Leeb, AIA, New Jersey’s QUAD States conference chairman, said he was very pleased with the registration from New Jersey. The conference offered a full three days of tours, seminars and social activities featuring the Friday Expo floor, which was completely sold out.

For any members who had not been to Albany before, they were in for a wonderful surprise. The compact city is chock-full of interesting history and architecture, and AIA NYS secured the most experienced and knowledgeable tour guides. That is not to say that our fact-filled, AIA NJ PA Committee Co-Chair Bill Martin, AIA was not able to correctly expand upon the statements made by the guide on more than one occasion.

Our members participated in tours that took us to the New York State Capitol building, SUNY Polytechnic institute’s Zen Zero Energy Nanotechnology building, EMPAC, University at Albany School of Business, the Philip Schuyler mansion and The Egg Performing Arts Center on the Empire State Capital Plaza.

Friday afternoon, AIA New Jersey president, Ben Lee, AIA and co-workers Michael Ferment, AIA and Andrew Lewis, AIA, all of NK architects in Morristown New Jersey, presented a seminar entitled How Architects can Lead Change for Health and Wellness to the Built Environment. This program was well attended and provided an engaging learning experience for new ways to consider designing for wellness.

Thursday evening, all registrants were invited to attend the QUAD States Design Awards presentation and opening night party held at the New York State Museum. New Jersey was light on submissions for awards, but our members did attend the ceremony a-plenty and had a great time at the party. Some even rode the carousel!

Friday morning started off with the early morning Spec Academy and then rolled into a series of continuing education programs. The highlight of the Friday schedule was the opening of the Expo floor with over 80 exhibitors from across the region. Exhibitors commented on their satisfaction with the event, meeting plenty of architects and allied professionals.

Right before the Expo closed, AIA New Jersey management staff Laura and Lisa from PSI drew the lucky winners’ names for the distribution of Expo Contest prizes. They really enjoyed seeing the smiles on the faces of all the winners.

Later that afternoon, AIA New Jersey executive board members Kim Vierheilig, AIA and Jessica O’Donnell, AIA participated in a panel discussion about Designing your Career Path through Equity, Engagement, and Leadership.  This panel was filled with women leaders in architecture from each of the host states.

Following that, Friday night included a conference cocktail party in the Capital Center, an emerging professionals party and the New York State Design Awards reception. AIA NJ members that forgot their tuxedos gathered at The Merry Monk for a casual, festive dinner!

Photo by W. Martin, AIA

Photo by W. Martin, AIA

Photo by W. Martin, AIA

On Saturday, AIA New Jersey Young Architects Regional Director Jessica O’Donnell, AIA and Regional Associates Director Brandon Warshofsky, AIA, each were part of an educational seminar. Jessica’s was entitled Activating the Next Generation of AIA Architects while Brandon’s was called Emerging Advocates: Ways to Get Involved.

The convention also featured three outstanding keynote presentations. The first was presented by Steve Dumez, FAIA, of Eskew + Dumez + Ripple in New Orleans, LA. On Friday, members were treated to a healthy workplace presentation by Leigh Stringer from EYP in Washington DC. Saturday morning, our members learned about Automation in Design, Design by Automation by Michael Pryor, Pavlina Vardoulaki and Li Chen, all from Design Morphine in New York City.

While this conference was much smaller than a National Convention, with only 300 attendees, it offered a diverse, invigorating schedule from an educational perspective as well as for sightseeing and learning about the architecture and history of Albany.

The city was a great setting for this event, allowing for ease of transfer from the two featured hotels to the Capital Convention Center and beyond, to external tour sites. Everything is very compact and the city is clean and quiet.

New Jersey had around 60 members attend this event that replaced our annual Design Day program, and it was a success from every vantage point. Thank you to everyone who made this possible!

All photos by Stacey Ruhle Kliesch, AIA, unless noted otherwise.

You Want Us to Do What? The First Day of Architecture School…

by Aric Gitomer, AIA

 

Image taken & altered from Virginia Tech: http://www.archdesign.vt.edu/home/images/home-1.jpg

 

Close to 40 years ago I walked into Cowgill Hall, the School of Architecture building at Virginia Tech. I was directed to what was to be my home for my first year away from home. You might think your dorm room is your home but you would be mistaken! I went down to the basement level to be greeted with a sea of tables in long linear rows with each station delineated by a metal four-legged stool positioned in even divisions. This “design studio” would house half of the first year class of ‘84. As I excitedly walked in to start my journey I randomly selected an area in the middle and took a seat and waited, as did everyone else. No one knew what to expect. Back then no one had the internet to look up anything and the only resource I recall was the school’s published course catalog.

 

 

We all waited and waited and eventually two professors walked in, very late, (I think it was intentional to build up the suspense) and handed everyone a single sheet of a heavy stock paper approximately 18 inches by 24 inches and some balsa wood sticks. We were instructed to create beautiful curves only using those two items. We all looked at each other wondering what is going on. But who were we to question such a request, so we all started manipulating the paper about the stick to create our beautiful curves. As we did what we were instructed the professors walked around and whispered to each other, “what are they saying and why is one snickering”? We also whispered amongst ourselves, psst, what makes a curve beautiful? It would be my understanding that all curves are beautiful. Once we completed the task we had to take out our sketchbooks and draw the beautiful curves and then the negative space the curves formed. These drawing exercises continued and evolved into more and more requests and ended up being the warm-up exercise to get us ready for the next critical step. One professor in a very theatric manner instructed us to go outside and find ourselves a nice twig (not too big) lying about on campus and return. Upon our return our new instruction was to rotate the twig and draw the space formed as we rotated the twig. Not the twig itself, but the actual volume of space formed. The next step was to make it three dimensional model limited to two sources and no glue. Quite a few people took a beating from the professor on the dimensionality of their model. “THIS IS NOT THREE-D”! Until this day I am unclear on the aspect of their criticism. Maybe they just wanted to belittle people. As we worked obscure references were made to individuals unknown to all of us, names such as John Ruskin, Henry Greenough and Thomas Kuhn.

As we created our models out of Strathmore cardboard one poor soul, Ian, decided to put his exacto knife up against the edge of his plastic triangle to cut a straight line into his cardboard. The professor saw what he was doing and that was the end of Ian’s triangle. The professor snatched it away and told him if he did not know how to use his tools correctly he did not deserve to have them! It was so embarrassing and I felt so bad for Ian. But the professor did not stop there because later that same morning he saw Ian drawing a straight line using his triangular architect’s scale. That’s right he seized that as well. Ian was not going to have a good day or week for that matter because he did eventually lose more supplies. We did not see Ian again after the first semester. It was rumored he switched to Accounting.

I never lost anything on that first day or my five years in school for that matter but I will always remember that lesson. I respect all of my tools!

That first day had an incredible influence on me because it unlocked my perception of common things just lying about. Then, as I walked around campus I became more sensitive to details. My world of understanding objects had been transformed. The exercises gave me another dimension of appreciation for an object and how it impacts its surroundings. How did the light affect the space via highlights and shadows? What spaces did the inverse of a solid create? How did the negative and positive voids come together. Spatial relationships and how can I make a connection without any bonding agent. I think about that simple twig until this day. So for me my introduction to architecture via the design studio was quite impactful.

As I reflected back on that inspirational day I wondered what my peers experienced on their first day and what shaped their own journey into the world of architecture. The following are those memories;

I drew my hand.

I did a technical drawing of an exacto knife.

I created a guest house for an existing modernist house.

Our professor had us design a “regeneration unit” another term for a bathroom an exercise in rethinking a common place.

The prompt was when is a box not a box… we had three days to respond.

Had to drop my keys on my desk and explore the patterns.

We took a piece of famous art and made a square, rectilinear representation of it.  Then, from that, we developed a 3-d representation, in the form of a cube.

We had to read Louis Kahn’s “Between Silence and Light” then go out and photographically capture concepts within the book such as Order, Joy, Touch, Site, Wonder et al. (Grad School)

We were required to do sketches of everyday objects (10 a day) for about a week. Then chose one sketch, abstract it, and create a 3D model of the abstraction. I made a “beautiful” abstract 20oz coke bottle out of cardboard.

We had to walk for an hour through town sketching as we walked never letting the pencil leave the paper.

We were given a sheet of paper and instructed to create depth by scoring, cutting or folding.

We were asked to create a model of an object whose “differential was the resultant of a tetrahedron.”

We were called over to a large work table; the professor placed a sweet onion on it. With a grin the professor said something to the effect of, “I’ll be back in 20 minutes and we will discuss the onion and how it can teach you about architecture.”

A bag full of unshelled peanuts was emptied from a sack and then asked “what are these?”

We had to take 10 strips of paper approximately 1” x 18” each and a box of paper clips and construct a tower. No other items could be used.

We had to create a single unit into many and that many would become a new unit.

Professor walk into studio presents a box of computer cards and a bundle of piano wire and tells us to make something architectural

We created a sloped and a flat platform out of chipboard and then with just toothpicks and glue we had to create structures to support bricks.

Take a simple object and make it complex… I turned in a crumpled up piece of paper.

We were handed a hunk of heavy gage copper wire and instructed to make something beautiful.

We give a very complex multiple day project involving the manipulating of two 4”x4” cubes and their intersections to create one object. The assignment involves a two dimension (cruciform) pattern which is to be folded creating a transformation from the abstract to the concrete. Three terms considered are: superposition, twinning and interpenetration.

Students get into small groups of 5-6, and on a large piece of paper (6’ square) draw a series of concentric, freehand circles. One student begins by drawing a circle in graphite, about the size of a fist. The next student attempts to correct the imperfections in that circle by drawing one around it, also in graphite (1” bar of soft graphite). They continue on this way for a few days until the circle is about 4-5 ft. in diameter. We discuss the idea of circle, of what makes a circle, and the tension between the relative and absolute, between the idea of a thing and the forces acting on something coming into the physical world. The project is simple in that everyone knows a circle, but most haven’t spent much time thinking about them. In just a few days, large questions about the role of media, tools, drawing, ideas, geometry, history, and context have been introduced, and these are returned to throughout the year.

The Take Away:

So if you thought you were going to walk into design studio your first day of Architecture School and start designing buildings you would have been sadly mistaken, but the journey they take you on to get there is magical!

You can review additional posts on my blog page:  http://www.aricgitomerarchitect.com/blog/

Aric Gitomer AIA is an architect and sole practitioner in Morris Plains, NJ – Aric Gitomer Architect, LLC. He is a graduate of Virginia Tech and has been practicing architecture for over 30 years. The focus of his current practice is residential design inclusive of alterations, additions and renovations as well as new structures.

Editorial Disclaimer

The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the author(s) and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, positions or strategies of AIA NJ or any employee thereof. AIA NJ makes no representations as to accuracy, completeness, correctness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use.

AIA NJ reserves the right to delete, edit, or alter in any manner it sees fit comments that it, in its sole discretion, deems to be obscene, offensive, defamatory, threatening, in violation of trademark, copyright or other laws, or is otherwise unacceptable.

 

 

Q3 YAF Connection

The Q3 issue of YAF CONNECTION is out and available online.
This issue focuses on Disaster Relief, Humanitarian and Pro-Bono work.

In this issue AIA New Jersey member Kyle Rendall, AIA is featured for his work locally.   Read about his efforts and others around the country who are working to improve the built environment.

 

12th Annual Photography Competition Voting Opens

Now in it’s 12th year – the AIA West Jersey Photography Competition has opened public voting period to select the top images of this years finalists.    Voting ends November 1, 2017.

Go to the website to place your vote for your favorite.

As in years past, many great architectural images were submitted from photographers around the country.  A panel of jurors narrowed the entries to the finalists in the public voting portion of the competition.   All of the public votes and juror votes will be tallied to decide the top three images that received cash awards and the cover photograph on the 2018 printed wall calendar.

Many Thanks to our 2017 jurors:

– Mark Barone, AIA
AIA West Jersey President
– Bruce Turner, AIA
AIA New Jersey Regional Representative
– Brandon Warshofsky, AIA
AIA New Jersey Regional Associate Director

Cast your vote TODAY.

Oct. 24: Passive How?

AIA West Jersey General Meeting

Oct. 24, 2017: Passive How?

Attendees will learn the basics of Passive House standards from industry leaders, Scott Kelly, AIA, LEED Fellow, CPHC adn David Salamon, CPHD from ReVision Architecture  This presentation will cover best practices for designing Passive House projects, as well as lessons learned from their years of experience as Passive House Designers and Consultants.

This event has been approved for 3 HSW and 3 GBCI credits.

RSVP by October 19th to Jessica O’Donnell, AIA at westjerseyaia@gmail.com for our October General Membership Meeting on October 24th!

Come to the 2017 AIA NJ EPiC Emerging Professionals Night

Thursday, October 19, 2017Board Meeting: 4:30 pm Social Hour: 6:00 pm Food & Program:  7:00 pmSponsored By: Porcelanosa USA 65 Route 17 South Paramus , NJ 07652 Phone: 201.712.0556 www.porcelanosa-usa.comClick here for map and directions 2017 Sponsors: Pella Windows & Doors Platinum Sponsor Structural Workshop, LLC  Platinum Sponsor KSI Professional Engineers LLC  Silver Sponsor Prosurance Redeker Group  Silver Sponsor October Member Meeting Join us for our annual Emerging Professionals Event and the educational program: “How Architects Can Lead Change for Health and Wellness in the Built Environment” 1.5 LU/HSWIntroduction by: Ben Lee, AIA, AIA-NJ President Presentation by Emerging Professionals: Michael Ferment, AIA and Andrew Lewis, AIAGenerously Sponsored by Porcelanosa Please send your RSVP to rsvp@alnnj.org before 12 Noon on Monday, October 16, 2017.This event is open to members of all AIA-NJ sections, non-member NJ architects, and students, reservations required. Economic globalization has had a major impact on population health. Our population has become increasingly overweight and obese; early onset diabetes has become more prevalent. During the same period, the cost of healthcare has skyrocketed. A more sedentary life style is becoming the norm through all age groups. Can Architects lead the change to improve health & wellness through our built environment? Architects can incorporate life cycle evidence based design and health & wellness design principles to all building types; i.e. for healthier housing, schools, workplaces, commerce and institutions. Can Architects create healthier and more livable communities? To do this, we must venture beyond the physical boundaries of the buildings that we design. We must renew focus on the spaces between the buildings, the spaces beyond the property lines; the walking paths, bike trails, public transportation, the connections between the parks and community places, and the cultural/socioeconomic vibrancy that will create healthy and livable cities. If we, as architects, can design and promote a healthier built environment, we can lead the change to improve the health of our population. Ben Lee, AIA: Ben Lee is the 2017 AIA NJ President. He is a Board Certified Healthcare Architect by the ACHA, licensed to practice in 25 States and Washington DC. He is a Principal and CFO at NK Architects where he leads their national Healthcare Practice. He is an advocate for healthy & livable communities. Ben’s advocacy has included presentations to the NJ Future Redevelopment Conference, the Atlantic Health Knowledge & Networking Event, and East Coast Green Health & Wellness Conference, among others. Michael Ferment, AIA: Mike is a Registered Architect in NJ, and has earned certifications in Evidence-Based Design and Sustainable Design. He is dedicated to understanding how the built environment impacts human health and well-being, and helping our clients incorporate Evidence-Based Design principles into their facilities. As a veteran, Mike has concentrated his focus on healthcare planning and design with special interest in Veteran’s Affairs projects. Mike was recently appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees for the Architects League of Northern New Jersey. Andrew Lewis, AIA: Andrew is an advocate for wellness at NK Architects, where he oversees the company’s corporate wellness plan. Andrew is passionate about design, with a strong focus on building community through design. He is primarily focused on projects for Colleges & Universities.

AIA NJ EPiC and the Archtober Challenge

Archtober is a month dedicated to spreading Architectural knowledge and celebrating our Emerging Professionals.

By definition, emerging professionals [EPs] are identified by their recent entry into the profession, not by their age. AIA National places EPs into three categories: architecture students involved with AIAS, AIA Associate members and AIA members licensed ten years or less.

AIA New Jersey is fortunate to have a devoted group of EPs who are working to activate the next generation of AIA members on local, state, regional, and national levels. They founded AIA NJ EPiC, our current Emerging Professionals Community, in 2015.  Since then they have continued in their leadership roles on various committees and have been selected as guest speakers/facilitators nationwide.

AIA NJ and the Architecture profession as a whole can immensely benefit from embracing the EPs fresh experience, greater diversity, and global thinking. We are all too aware of the large workforce gap that is becoming more prominent by the day as more Architects reach retirement.

AIA NJ and AIA NJ EPiC encourage YOU to reach out to the EPs in your office, section, or town. Start the conversation, share stories, and help create a cohesive line of succession within our profession. Challenge and encourage the EPs in your office to join you at the next general meeting in your section by sharing all the reasons why you decided to become an AIA member. Sharing your experiences as an Architect can only enhance the future of the profession.

EPiC urges the EPs to rise to the occasion and seek out a firm leader or AIA member. Ask them to join you at the next section meeting or EPiC event. AIA members have immense knowledge that can help you as you progress in your career. Get involved with the AIA and take your career to the next step.

Spreading Architectural knowledge is something we all strive to do. Volunteer to become a mentor or go to an elementary school and give a brief presentation on what Architecture is. AIA NJ EPiC has resources for you to use, just reach out and ask!

Share your success stories and photos with us by email or on social media! Let’s show everyone that when we work toward a common goal the opportunities are limitless.

Find resources and learn more about AIA NJ Emerging Professionals here.

 

epic@aia-nj.org

https://www.facebook.com/AIANJEPiC/

https://twitter.com/AIANJEPiC/

https://www.instagram.com/aia_nj_epic/

https://www.facebook.com/YAFNJ/

Renovated Midcentury Modern Eero Saarinen Landmark Hill College House Reopens

Designed by renowned Finnish American architect Eero Saarinen and built in 1960, Hill College House at the University of Pennsylvania has undergone a 15-month, $80 million, LEED Gold-targeted renovation. The internationally recognized landmark will reopen to 500 student residents later this month.

The five-story, 195,000-sf brick residence has undergone a comprehensive renovation, preserving Saarinen’s revolutionary design vision for communal living with multiple public spaces at varying physical and social scales. Originally a women’s dormitory, Hill College House features an allegorical entry bridge over a landscaped “moat” and surrounding spiked metal fence. Student lounges and seminar rooms are built around a vast central atrium that overlooks a dining area on the lower level.

“In this complex and challenging renovation, Mills + Schnoering Architects has designed multiple deft interventions that accumulate into a complete refresh of this important building – one that respects and invigorates Saarinen’s design and the community life it so richly fosters,” said University Architect David Hollenberg.

Mills + Schnoering Architects of Princeton, N.J., led the design and construction team. Specialists in historic renovation, the firm previously worked on Saarinen’s Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, Mo.

“Our approach respects the original Saarinen Hill College House design, preserving its legacy,” said Mills + Schnoering Partner-in-Charge, Michael Mills, FAIA. “Our choices were inspired both by the integrity of the architecture and by the contemporary student experience, with a design meant to balance the two in a welcoming, accessible student residence.”

Features of the renovation design include:

• Expansion of dining facilities by 50 percent, including major kitchen upgrades.
• Restoration of the iconic “drawbridge” entrance and landscaped “moat.”
• Removal, restoration, and refitting of over 400 windows.
• New furniture and finishes designed to echo the building’s midcentury style and reinterpret

  Saarinen’s bold color palette and furnishings.

• All new MEP systems and the introduction of air-conditioning.
• Conversion of all bathrooms to individual restrooms and shower rooms.
• Installation of LED lighting in the center atrium.
• New elevator and lift to provide accessibility compliance.
• Perimeter wall insulation, a new roof, and restoration of two outdoor courtyards.

  Project goals included strengthening the sense of community at the heart of Hill College House’s original design and respecting the historic significance of the building’s materials and details, by maintaining as much fabric and design intent as possible while inserting modern systems and amenities.

 

Hill by the Numbers

The renovated facility includes:

• 261 student rooms: 206 doubles, 41 singles, 11 ADA singles, and 3 RA singles
• 5 faculty apartments
• 15 graduate assistant apartments
• 161 gender-neutral bathrooms
• 5,750 sf main dining facility
• 300 main dining facility seats
• 1,810 sf of private dining
• 29,505 sf of social spaces
• 19 atrium lounges
• 17 corridor lounges

 

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About University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is an Ivy League institution with 12 undergraduate, graduate and professional schools in Philadelphia, serving a diverse community of more than 20,000 students from around the world. Ranked consistently among the top 10 universities in the nation, Penn has a longstanding reputation for excellence. For more information, visit http://www.upenn.edu.

About Mills + Schnoering Architects

Mills + Schnoering Architects, LLC (M+Sa) is a full-service architectural firm with work focused on cultural buildings, public buildings, campus planning and design, and the preservation and rehabilitation of historic structures. The firm has a particular interest in the restoration, renovation, and adaptive use of midcentury modern buildings and sites. The Hill College House architectural team was led by Michael Mills, FAIA, Partner in Charge; Michael Schnoering, FAIA, Managing Partner; Alison Baxter, AIA, Project Manager; and Meredith Arms Bzdak, PhD, Interiors Coordinator and Architectural Historian. For more information, visit http://msarchitectsllc.com.

DesignPhiladelphia 2017 Kicks Off on October 4th

The nation’s longest running design festival with over 100 events in nine days from Oct. 5 to 14

 

Philadelphia, PA– DesignPhiladelphia, the Center / Architecture + Design’s (the Center) signature public festival, will return for its 13th year with over 130 events from October 5^th to 14^th. DesignPhiladelphia highlights the work of thousands of local designers, architects, and creative professionals to demonstrate Philadelphia’s reemergence as a 21st century city shaped by thoughtful design, collaborative business practices, and community engagement.

 

The festivities officially begin on October 4^th at the much anticipated Kickoff Party at Jefferson University, highlighting the exciting merger of a Philadelphia University and Thomas Jefferson University. This year DesignPhiladelphia and five curated design teams teamed up with A.C. Moore to create a series of installations that will spark conversation and pique curiosity.

 

“DesignPhiladelphia has continued to grow in quantity and quality each year, which speaks volumes about the depth of design talent in the region. Our goal is to highlight the best designers in Philadelphia, as well as introduce new, cutting edge designers to the public,” said Rebecca Johnson, Executive Director, Center for Architecture and Design. “This year we are offering more events than ever before, with innovative design installations at our kickoff party, the student designed and constructed Merge outdoor sculpture on Lubert Plaza at Jefferson, neighborhood design crawls, new programming and exhibits, and a special DesignPhiladelphia Pop-Up Shop at the AIA Bookstore, where attendees can purchase works from some of the artists featured at the festival.”

 

As one of the oldest design events in the nation, DesignPhiladelphia annually welcomes more than 25,000 attendees during its ten-day run. Attendees can view Festival events by picking up an event guide at various locations throughout the city or by visitinghttp://www.designphiladelphia.org.

 

Some highlights of 2017 DesignPhiladelphia Festival include:

 

Kickoff Party

Wednesday, October 4 from 6:00PM to 10:00PM

Jefferson University, Dorrance H. Hamilton Building

1001 Locust Street, Philadelphia

This year’s kickoff party is designed to be a showstopper. Located in the heart of Center City on the Jefferson campus, DesignPhiladelphia teamed up with A.C. Moore and five curated design teams to feature a series of installations that will spark conversation and pique curiosity.

 

Neighborhood Crawls

Old City Design Crawl, organized and presented by Old City District

Friday, October 6 from 5:00PM to 9:00PM

152 North 3^rd Street, Philadelphia

Old City is Philadelphia’s hub for art and design and long-time neighborhood supporter of the festival. Experience this special First Friday Design Crawl featuring a diverse group of showrooms and retailers.

 

Tyler Hays: The Art of Making Everything

Organized and presented by COLLAB

Wednesday, October 11 from 6:00pm to 8:00PM

Philadelphia Museum of Art

Tyler Hays is a world-renowned designer as well as the founder and lead designer of BDDW in Philadelphia, an American furniture company dedicated to the creation of well crafted timeless designs. Following Tyler’s presentation, guests will be invited to embark on a treasure hunt in the Museum’s 17th and 18th century decorative arts galleries, where they will find some of Tyler’s pieces temporarily positioned within the elegant sweep of design history.

 

FitCityPHL3

Organized and presented by Health Promotion Council and AIA Philadelphia

Thursday, October 12 from 8:30AM to 5:30PM

FitCityPHL is an annual full-day symposium that explores design strategies in workplaces, neighborhoods, and cities that improve health. It brings together individuals representing the sectors of public health, architecture, planning, design, landscape architecture, development, research and evaluation, academia, philanthropy, and government to learn about how the built environment can have a positive impact on the negative health trends currently facing communities

 

Behind the Scenes: Bok Bar Furniture Design

Organized and presented by Scout and the Center for Architecture and Design

Friday, October 13 from 5:30PM to 7:30pm

Bok Bar commissioned eight local individuals and small teams of designers, makers, and artists to create bespoke furniture for Bok Bar. The teams are diverse, from emerging visual artists to long-time Philly furniture designers. Guillio Cappellini of the world renowned Italian furniture company, Cappellini, will moderate a panel of these designers to learn how their unique pieces were designed from concept to final product.

 

To learn more about DesignPhiladelphia 2017, visit: designphiladelphia.org.

 

DesignPhiladelphia festival is made possible through event partners and sponsors, most especially this year’s Presenting Sponsor, Jefferson University.

 

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About Center / Architecture + Design

Founded in 2002 by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA Philadelphia), the Center / Architecture + Designprovides the public a place to explore architecture, urban planning, and design, allowing them to understand how these creative professions affect us all in our daily lives. Using Philadelphia’s distinctive breadth of architecture, pioneering urban design, and manufacturing heritage as the foundation for discussions, we educate the public with walking tours, guest speakers, exhibitions, hands-on workshops, design competitions, festivals, and children’s programming. The Center / Architecture + Design brings together architects, designers, developers, thought leaders, and the public under one roof and also serves as the physical home for AIA Philadelphia, the Community Design Collaborative, and the AIA Bookstore. The Center is open to the public six days a week.

 

About DesignPhiladelphia

DesignPhiladelphia, a signature event of Center / Architecture + Design, is the oldest design festival of its kind in the country, highlights local and global design excellence, promotes local designers and design firms, and engages the general public to experience and understand how design impacts their everyday lives. Over the course of ten days each October, universities, cultural institutions, civic associations, city agencies, retailers, manufacturers, and startups across the city participate in over 100 engaging events including panel discussions, participatory workshops, studio tours, book signings, professional development classes, design exhibitions, and imaginative celebrations. DesignPhiladelphia 2017 begins the evening of October 4 with a Kick Off Party. Events run from October 5 to 14.

2017 NJIT Lecture Series

Join NJIT for it’s Lecture Series at the College of Architecture and Design

Fall 2017