Join us for a book launch and panel discussion with the authors and contributors of Creatures Are Stirring: A Guide to Architectural Companionship on Monday, November 8 at 6:00pm at the Chicago Cultural Center.
The book is an optimistic manifesto that rescripts the anthropocentric narratives of Western architecture with new myths for a playfully compassionate and co-habitable future. Through a collection of flash fictions, creative essays, and case studies, the book re-conceptualizes buildings as our intimate companions by amplifying architecture’s creaturely qualities—formal embellishments, fictional enhancements, and organizational strategies that suggest animal-like agency. In an unsettled world, such qualities may initiate more companionable relationships between humans and the built environment, and ultimately foster greater solidarity with other human and nonhuman lifeforms.
AUTHORS
Joseph Altshuler is an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, cofounder of Could Be Architecture, a Chicago-based design practice, and the founding editor of SOILED, an architectural literary magazine.
Julia Sedlock is cofounder of Cosmo Design Factory, a Hudson Valley NY practice that combines residential client work with a commitment to local community development and activism. As a founding member of several local organizations, Julia collaborates with neighbors and local government to improve engagement in village life for all residents of Philmont, NY.
RESPONDENTS
Joyce Hwang is associate professor and associate chair of architecture at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York, and the Founder of Ants of the Prairie, an office of architectural practice and research that focuses on confronting contemporary ecological conditions through creative means.
Stewart Hicks is associate professor of architecture and associate dean of the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and founding partner of Design With Company.
Allison Newmeyer is founding partner of the architectural practice Design With Company and adjunct associate professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Fred Scharmen teaches architecture and urban design at Morgan State University’s School of Architecture and Planning. He is cofounder of the Working Group on Adaptive Systems, an art and design consultancy based in Baltimore, Maryland.
MODERATOR
Jayne Kelley is an editor and writer based in Chicago. She works mostly on books about architecture. She is currently clinical assistant professor and assistant director of events and publications at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture.
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Chicago Architecture Biennial’s InDialogue Series is supported by Hindman Auctions.
Hindman, an internationally recognized fine art auction house, offers its clients an unyielding focus on service and holistic solutions to connect to the global art market. Hindman conducts over 100 auctions annually in 52 collecting categories such as fine art, jewelry, modern design, books and manuscripts, furniture, native American art, decorative arts, antiquities, couture, and Asian works of art. Founded and headquartered in Chicago, Hindman is now represented in 13 cities in the United States and operates five salerooms, more than any other auction house in the country.
