UB School of Architecture and Planning Lecture Series to Feature International Architecture, Design Stars

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning this spring will sponsor lectures, exhibitions and teaching fellowships by some of the world's architectural legends, including the brilliant, witty, imaginative architectural team of MacArthur fellows Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio.

Kent Kleinman, chair of the school's Department of Architecture, calls the series "an opportunity for Buffalonians to hear and see the work of some of the most arresting and exciting figures in the field of architectural design.

"The very presence of these artists and thinkers, who are known for stimulating creativity among people in many fields, speaks to the esteem in which the UB school is held in the international architectural community," he added. "I hope the public will take advantage of their visits here to see some extraordinary work."

The series will open on Jan. 31 with "Architecture in the Public Realm," a slide presentation by architect Mehrdad Yazdani, at 6:30 p.m. in the Albright-Knox Art Gallery Auditorium, 1285 Elmwood Ave. The talk is made possible with support from Cannon Design.

A design principal at CannonDworsky Design in Los Angeles, Yazdani has focused on the creation of a new generation of structures in the public domain. Over the past six years, he has designed more than 20 award-winning structures, many of which feature big, decisive strokes that carry the design. They include a metro station in Santa Monica whose stunning entrance is monumentalized by a massive -- but elegant -- elliptical cantilevered canopy that illuminates a 20,000-square-foot plaza.

Yazdani's work has been featured in such news publications as The Los Angeles Times and The New York Times and such in professional journals as Architecture Review and Progressive Architecture, and is part of the permanent collections of both the New York and San Francisco Museums of Modern Art.

The series will continue at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 14 in 148 Diefendorf Hall on the UB South (Main Street) Campus with a slide lecture, "Space In Between," presented by Austrian architect Hugo Dworzak. Since most information on Dworzak's work is in German, this presentation will afford the audience a rare opportunity to familiarize themselves with his work, which primarily involves the design of dwellings in complex topographic and community settings. Dworzak has received international attention for his creative interpretation of site and context, and inventive use of new materials and techniques.

A generous, anonymous donation will make possible a talk titled "Weight Wait" by Princeton-trained architect Tod Williams, principal in one of the most talked-about design studios in the country. He will speak at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 28 in 148 Diefendorf.

Williams' buildings, writings and teachings are based on the examination of the physical and philosophical natures of construction. In addition to his architectural practice, he has taught at several major American universities.

In 1986, Williams co-founded Tod Williams Billie Tsien Associates and the New York-based studio since has produced a number of highly acclaimed works, including the Neuroscience Institute at La Jolla, Calif.; the Museum of Art in Phoenix, Ariz., and most recently, the Natatorium at the Cranbrook Academy of the Arts in Michigan.

The firm has received many awards, among them five national awards from the American Institute of Architects. Its work has been published widely, including in a recent monograph on the firm entitled "WorkLife" (2000). Williams was an advanced fellow at the American Academy in Rome (1982) and in 1992 was named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.

"Irrational Exuberance" is the title of a talk to be given by award-winning architect and artist Mark Robbins at 5:30 p.m. on March 21 in 148 Diefendorf. Robbins maintains a practice that encompasses curatorial projects, installations and teaching. Before founding his own practice in 1986, he worked for the architecture firms of SOM New York, James Polshek and Partners, and Emilio Ambasz.

Robbins' awards include the Rome Prize (1996), the Young Architects Competition (1985), three ACSA Design Excellence Awards and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Graham Foundation and the New York State Council on the Arts. He is an associate professor at the Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State University and has served as director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts since 1999.

The exciting, world-renowned architectural team of Elizabeth Diller and Ricardo Scofidio, the first architect-recipients of a MacArthur Fellowship, will be the special guests at Atelier 2001, the school's annual fund-raising exposition. Atelier will be co-sponsored by Lauer Manguso Architects and the Buffalo chapter of the American Institute of Architecture Students.

Their slide address is scheduled to take place at 5:30 p.m. April 6 in 148 Diefendorf, but Kleinman says that if the site is finished, the lecture likely will christen the school's new lecture hall in 302 Crosby Hall on the South Campus. The lecture hall's exhilarating and daring design is the product of a team effort by the school's faculty and students.

The Diller + Scofidio approach to architecture, wrote critic Aaron Betsky, "moves beyond traditional conceptions of what buildings should be, and is the purest form of modernism we have today."

The pair's award-winning work includes a stunning -- and disturbing -- set design for a ballet that incorporates the sensations inherent in a choreographer's schizophrenia, an installation that is a troubling paean to the American lawn, an unromantic robotic installation that replicates "life" in bureaucratic spaces and a wondrous "floating" oblong building that is virtually invisible beneath a constant cloud-cover of its own creation.