Celebrating 50 years of innovation and impact

Alumni and friends from across the university and surrounding region joined with faculty and students in our Hayes Hall Atrium Gallery for the unveiling of our 50+ Alumni Exhibition, featuring 50+ alumni, in 50 images, over 50 years. The exhibition showcases the bold ideas of our graduates, realized through diverse modes of practice, from built works and community plans to experimental installations to acts of public service. Each image tells a personal story of creative drive and professional excellence; together, they represent the collective impact of our graduates at work across the professions, at all scales, and in communities around the world.  Mounted in the Hayes Hall Atrium Gallery, the exhibition is on view through Sept. 5, 2022. Visit the exhibition in Hayes Hall or view the work online. 

Students and faculty heard from a panel of 11 distinguished young alumni leading innovation across our professions. From a professor of urban planning and an award-winning designer of tiny homes, to a civic entrepreneur advocating for social justice and a designer with one of the top boutique firms in the world, the esteemed group shared their personal and professional journeys since graduation, including projects of inspiration and how their time at UB has shaped their pathway.

Watch the presentations from our 11 alumni panelists by clicking on the individual names below.

Drawing on the School’s cherished tradition of Atelier, the 50+ Anniversary Celebration included a School-wide open house with more than 100 displays of faculty and student work. A celebration of the creative process and maker culture behind our work, the event cast open the doors of our studios, shop facilities, critique spaces, research centers and classrooms with displays of work across our programs in architecture, urban planning, environmental design and real estate development. The exhibitions spanned Hayes Hall, the academic heart of our School, our Fabrication Workshop and SMART Fabrication Factory in Parker Hall, and undergraduate studio spaces in the Hayes and Acheson Hall Annexes. 

Installed at Buffalo’s CEPA Gallery (April 6 – May 19, 2022), "The City and Its School" presents two exhibitions exploring the School’s 50-year investment in its host city. Guests were invited to join the exhibition's soft opening on April 6, followed by the formal opening on April 8.

The dual installation features “Buffalo Constructing Buffalo: From Olmsted to Van Valkenburgh,” a visual narrative interpreting the civic planning process behind the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park emerging on Buffalo’s Lake Erie waterfront, the foundation of city plans that informed it and the best practices research that informed it; and “See It Through Buffalo,” a documentary short that captures the varied urban landscapes of Buffalo and educational spaces of the School, revealing the exchange between a school and its city. Both exhibitions debuted in Venice, Italy, at Time Space Existence, an international exhibition that runs in parallel with the Venice Architecture Biennale, the world’s preeminent forum for architecture and design.  

The renovation of Crosby Hall, the hub of our undergraduate studio experience, was also featured in the celebration. Guests were invited to hear from renovation architect Andrew Berman about the $28 million renovation, which will restore the building’s exterior to historic standards and reconfigure the interior into an airy, open, contemporary space for learning and making. Members of our Dean’s Council, an advisory board of distinguished alumni and professional leaders, received a tour of the space as the project moves toward its Fall 2023 completion. 

Alumni reconnected with one another gathered with faculty and students at Duende @ Silo City, in the shadows of Buffalo's monumental grain silos, to kick off the two-day celebration.