University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 22, 2005

By KEVIN FRYLING
Reporter Contributor

The School of Architecture and Planning's fall 2005 lecture series will bring a wide range of world-renowned architects and designers from across the globe to UB to discuss such topics as urban regeneration, environmentalism, energy efficiency and gender.

All lectures will be free of charge and open to the public and will be held at 5:30 p.m. in 301 Crosby Hall, South Campus.

David Orr, a nationally recognized champion of environmental sustainability, will be the speaker on Wednesday. He is a distinguished professor of environmental studies and politics at Oberlin College, where he oversees the Lewis Environmental Studies Center, and is an advisor with the Trust for Public Land and National Parks Advisory Committee. He is the author of four books, including "Last Refuge: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror."

Orr recently spearheaded the effort to design and build the Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental Studies at Oberlin College, a structure that runs on sunlight and was designed to generate more energy than it uses. Through the use of a "living machine," the building also produces cleaner wastewater than the tap water entering the building. The center was named one of the "Top Ten Green Buildings" in 2002 by the American Institute of Architect's Committee on the Environment, as well as one of 30 "milestone buildings" of the 20th century by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Orr's leadership has led to a study demonstrating how Oberlin College could eliminate or offset all greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 to become "climate neutral."

In addition to the School of Architecture and Planning event in Crosby Hall, Orr will give a lecture entitled "Earth in Mind: Patriotism, Politics, and the Environment in an Age of Terror" the same day at 8 p.m. in Slee Hall, North Campus. Both lectures are free of charge.

Other speakers scheduled to come to UB as part of the lecture series in upcoming months are:

• Greg Pasquarelli, Oct. 7. Pasquarelli is the founder of SHoP, a 40-person studio that designs and constructs projects in New York City. SHoP focuses on designing new urban housing and educational buildings. Last year, the studio completed the Heyri Art Complex in Seoul, South Korea. The center recently was covered in Architectural Record.

• Representatives of Caruso St. John, Oct. 19. Caruso St. John is an architectural firm in London that has designed such significant buildings in England as the New Art Gallery in Walsall, a school in London and galleries for Larry Gagosian, an influential art dealer and businessman connected to the modern art scene. The firm also has designed urban-regeneration projects in England and Scandinavia. The work of Caruso St. John has been exhibited in Tokyo; Porto, Portugal; and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as well as at the 2004 Venice Biennale in Italy.

• James Cathcart, Nov. 9. Cathcart is the 2005 McHale Fellow in the School of Architecture and Planning, and will teach in the graduate program. He is an architect who works in New York City on the design of new museums and exhibitions. His work is widely published and has appeared in a recent edition of Pamphlet Architecture. An exhibition of Cathcart's work will be displayed in the Dyett Gallery, Hayes Hall, South Campus, from Nov. 7 to Dec. 2.

• Jian Zhou, Nov. 16. Zhou comes to UB from Tonghi University in China as the 2005 Jammal Lecturer in the School of Architecture and Planning. He teaches and practices urban design and city planning, and is the chief planner for an upcoming Expo in Shanghai that will focus on urban land reclamation and renewal on a large riverside site, converting derelict land into public space.

• Matthias Sauerbruch and Louisa Hutton, Nov. 17. Sauerbruch and Hutton are the founders of the award-winning Berlin architectural office Sauerbruch Hutton, which focuses on urban regeneration and the development of low-energy concepts in building designs. Sauerbruch Hutton recently completed the new headquarters of the federal agency for the environment in Dessau, Germany. Construction of the facility brought jobs to Dessau, a post-industrial city, thereby contributing to urban and economic renewal.

Brian Carter, dean of the School of Architecture and Planning, said the subject of urban regeneration, a focus in several lectures of the series, is of particular interest to the residents and officials of the City of Buffalo.

In addition to the lecture series and Cathcart's exhibition, the School of Architecture and Planning has scheduled two exhibitions of student work for the fall semester in the Dyett Gallery. The first is on view in a display entitled "Global Studies: Costa Rica/Japan/Ireland," which will run through Oct. 14. The second, a collection of studio work by students, will be on display Dec. 12 to Dec. 30.