UW 2009 Fall Lecture Series
We were going to steer you toward all the great lectures coming to the University of Washington this fall but according to their website there aren’t any. So we thought we’d take a crack at the UW Department of Architecture’s fall lecture series ourselves this quarter. The focus, you ask? Mix it up a bit – get some great speakers in there who aren’t necessarily architects but could offer a remarkable knowledge base applicable to the design community. Here goes:
Cecil Balmond; quite possibly the most provocative engineer-architect on the planet.
Barry Schwarz; his ideas about human psychology and choice are more relevant than ever to our highly entitled society.
Peter Gluck; tackling the tough economy by taking on design-build in New York City and training his staff on how to be architects of the future.
Banksy; that’s right the quasi-anonymous graffiti artist from England who’s prolific style flanks cities across the globe. We’re quite serious actually – put the guy in a ski mask and get him behind the podium.
Ted Smith; architect, developer and builder from San Diego, a true master-architect.
Seth Godin; the author of “Tribes” is redefining how we work, play and interact.
Bjarke Ingels; one of the most forward thinking architects in the world – and he gives a great lecture full of personality and humor.
Richard Florida; the author of “Rise of the Creative Class” keeps an important pulse on the design-minded and social dynamics.
The Most Interesting Man in the World (according to Dos Equis); we’re not sure what he’s got to say about architecture but with his backlog of experiences, his entourage of models, his worldly confidence and his natural charm, whatever he decides to talk about should be laced with interest.
…so there you go UW. No need to thank us – a case of Pinot Nior is entirely unneccessary, put the Huskies Seasons Tickets away, membership to the Henry Art Gallery will be graciously refused. It was our pleasure.
15 Comments
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Shared Items – September 22, 2009 | Polycentrism — September 21, 2009 @ 11:53 pm
By Joshua Daniel Franklin, September 21, 2009 @ 7:39 am
Hey, good picks. I’d love to see The Most Interesting Man in the World in person.
Too bad about Dept of Architecture, but you could try some of the Alumni Association “NEXTCITY: Sustainable Urbanization” series:
http://www.washington.edu/alumni/learn/graduate/nextcity.html
All free to the public, registration is recommended.
By Anonymous, September 21, 2009 @ 7:43 am
Yeah – what is the UW dept of Architecture’s dealio? Why does the only architecture school in Seattle appear not to exist most of the time?
By mike, September 21, 2009 @ 1:44 pm
while UW’s lecture series is usually sporadic and lean, seattle is lucky enough to have organizations that help offset it:
space city has brought in some outstanding lecturers the last few years (including a great presentation by bjarke ingels)
http://space-city.net/
local museums and collectives (sam, the henry, nordic heritage museum and town hall) have brought in other decent lecturers (juhani pallasmaa, cameron sinclair)
though there is something great about living in the northeast corridor and being able to take a quick trip to [boston/nyc/new haven/philly/DC] to catch a great [lecture/performance/film/art exhibit]
By Samuel, September 21, 2009 @ 2:34 pm
I haven’t been to a UW lecture in years, but I’d probably hit at least half of these.
By Alex, September 21, 2009 @ 8:38 pm
If UW could get one of these guys it’d be a total coup. But where the ladies at? Not a one?
By Sondra, September 22, 2009 @ 7:41 am
What about some inspiring ladies…Hella Jongerius? Petra Blaisse? Maya Lin? Lucy Orta? How about devoting the next BUILD blog to acknowledging some females who are making an impact on the design world?
By Build LLC, September 22, 2009 @ 8:29 am
Touché Sondra – we’ll take you up on that.
By Richter, September 22, 2009 @ 11:56 am
Any one of these speakers far exceeds the comfort zone of the UW’s Architecture Department. Their conservative approach maintains an exceptionally safe lecture series of local fan club members.
By Keiser, September 22, 2009 @ 11:59 am
I agree with Mike – space.city continues to bring the important lectures to Seattle. I keep waiting for them to start an architecture school and put the UW Dept of Architecture out of business.
By NCC, September 25, 2009 @ 7:15 am
Archiect/Developer ? David Hovey FAIA is as almost big as John Portman . See link
http://www.optimaweb.com/Company/corporate_profile.html
By T-bone, September 26, 2009 @ 8:37 pm
A lecture by The Most Interesting Man in the World would be DOPE!
By Juliet, September 27, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
I used to get paid to fetch water, change the slide carousels, and focus. I can attest that the UW Lecture Series used to be much more… glamorous.
I would risk being seen (after ten years out) for a lecture by Mr. Florida.
By will, September 28, 2009 @ 3:51 pm
or we could just watch a lot of TED talks…
By CT, October 5, 2009 @ 10:28 am
If UW could get one of these guys it’d be a total coup. But where the ladies at? Not a one?