With summer coming to a close, it’s back to school for many architecture students. The start of the semester also marks the beginning of the fall lecture circuit, a highlight of architectural education in the U.S. and a chance for young designers to learn from the field’s most influential people.
This season’s crop yields an array of thinkers and designers from a variety of fields, from cinematography to tech, and tackles questions about how architecture and architects can take on the challenges of today’s turbulent political climate. Traditional bold-faced names are often eschewed in favor of younger provocative talents reshaping the profession.
But lectures aren’t only for academics. Many are free and open to the public, so we’re surveying the schedules of several schools on the East Coast and hand selecting certain events you won’t want to miss—even if your student days are long gone. Put these nights on your calendars now before the season ends.
Anab Jain, co-founder and director of Superflux
“Other Worlds Are Possible”
Thursday, September 6
Georgeen Theodore and Tobias Armborst, Interboro Partners
“Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”
Thursday, September 20
Omar Gandhi
“Defining a Process”
Thursday, September 27
Evan Sharp, co-founder of Pinterest
Friday, September 7
Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, co-founders of Neri&Hu
Monday, October 8
Elizabeth Timme and Helen Leung, co-founders of LA-Más
November 8
Virginia San Fratello: Printing Architecture
Wednesday, September 26
Eyal Weizman: Forensic Architecture: Counter Investigations
Wednesday, October 10
Dorte Mandrup: Conditions
Wednesday, November 7
University of Pennsylvania School of Design
Designing the Political Landscape: Activism + Design in the Trump Era
Thursday, August 30
Jennifer Newsom & Tom Carruthers, Dream the Combine
Wednesday, September 12
Donna Graves: Learning from LGBTQ Places: Thoughts on Heritage and Preservation
Tuesday, September 25
Hannah Beachler, Black Panther production designer, with Jacqueline Stewart
Thursday, October 4
Christopher Hawthorne, L.A. Chief Design Officer
Tuesday, October 9
Sou Fujimoto
Wednesday, October 11
A few universities haven’t publicly posted their fall lecture series yet so stay tuned as we update this page. Also, don’t forget to pick up a copy of The Architect’s Newspaper in print for our September calendar of events and lectures to check out throughout the country.
