Matthew Gandy: Natura urbana: ecological constellations in urban space
Matthew Gandy will explore a series of different vantage points for the study of socio-ecological assemblages in urban space. He will reflect on the possibilities for a new conceptual synthesis that combines observational approaches with urban political ecology and recognition of the multispecies city.
Panelists:
Ryan Coates – (Moderator) Instructor, Environmental Design Program
Ben Gaudes – Student, Master Landscape Architecture
Eduard Epp – Practitioner/Retired Professor, Department of Architecture
————————————————————————————————————
Leyla Acaroglu:
Abstract Coming Soon!
Panelists:
Katherine Isaac – (Moderator) Instructor, Environmental Design Program
Joanne McFadden – Practitioner, Principle – ft3 Architecture Landscape Interior Design
Dae Williams – Student, Environmental Design Program
————————————————————————————————————
David Gissen: The Architecture of Disability
This lecture, drawn from David Gissen’s recent book The Architecture of Disability, reimagines practices of architecture, landscape and urban design through the perspective of human impairment. Such efforts expand the agency of disabled people beyond a sole focus on gaining “access” and increased “accessibility” to the built world. Rather, an architecture of disability reconfigures ideas and experiences of incapacity and weakness as the foundation for another built environment.
Panelists:
Umid Abdullaev – (Moderator) Instructor, Interior Design Program
Ainsley Johnston – Practitioner, 5468796/Sessional Instructor, Environmental Design Program
Jason Shields – Assistant Professor, Interior Design Program
————————————————————————————————————
Indy Johar:
Abstract Coming Soon!
Panelists:
Mark Meagher – (Moderator) Assistant Professor, Environmental Design Program
Lianne Veness – Instructor, Department of Architecture/Director CAST
Evan Tremblay – Sessional Instructor, Environmental Design Program
————————————————————————————————————
Elizabeth Christoforetti:
Abstract Coming Soon!
Panelists:
Yuhao Lu – (Moderator) Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture
Michael Lucenkiw – PHD Student, Department of Architecture
Michael Butterworth – Sessional Instructor, Environmental Design Program/Practitioner ATLRG Architecture
————————————————————————————————————
Gareth Doherty: Landscape Fieldwork in Africa: Alternative Futures for the Field
Based on landscape fieldwork across eleven African countries during 2022–2023, this lecture speculates on the future of landscape architecture in the Global South. A central aim is to reveal some of the plurality of ways landscapes have traditionally been shaped across the African continent and how they may help mitigate the impacts of changing climates and social injustice now and in the dynamically changing urban landscapes of the future.
The African continent is rich in landscape practices but only eight African nations yet have a professional association of landscape architects. Forty-six countries do not have a professional association—but they still have landscape practices—raising fundamental questions about the role of experts and the importance of alternative professional arrangements in landscape architecture. While visiting projects, educational programs, and meeting practitioners, I saw and registered various landscape practices as they exist on the ground, whether professionally designed or not. Interestingly, some forms of “grassroots” practice are more deeply engaged with solving the problems of our age—such as climate change and social inequalities— than their more formalized and institutionalized counterparts.
Informed by this year of fieldwork, the lecture speculates on the agency for landscape architecture as it continues to unfold throughout societies in which the profession is nascent or non-existent. To this end, the talk is framed around three central questions: 1.) How is landscape architecture currently practiced in African countries? 2.) What lessons can we learn from traditional landscape practices in various African societies that can help mitigate the impacts of climate change and social inequities? 3.) As landscape architecture unfolds across the continent in the next 50–200 years, how can it claim a central space in the shaping of African?
This talk celebrates some of the rich and dynamic approaches toward African landscapes and unearths alternative typologies that can shape the future of landscape architecture. The hope is that the development of the profession on the continent will not lead to more western-dominated modes of practice but will instead bring African landscape practices to the rest of the world.
Panelists:
Kamni Gill – (Moderator) Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture
Raphael Ayambire – Assistant Professor, Department of City Planning
TBC
————————————————————————————————————