Spring 2023 "Recovery/Reclamation" Public Programs series kicks off March 1

UB's School of Architecture and Planning is pleased to announce the launch of its Spring 2023 Public Programs, continuing the conversation on the restorative potential of the built environment in response to the destructive forces of racial and social injustice.

The 2022-23 "Recovery/Reclamation" lecture series was curated in response to the racially motivated shooting in Buffalo nearly a year ago, which highlighted the local, national and global implications of structural bias. 

"In response, we are engaging a range of speakers who address the subject of recovery and reclamation through their work, in an effort to place this recent tragedy within a broader history and perspective," states the faculty committee behind the series’ curation.

Featuring leading scholars and practitioners across the fields of architecture, urban planning and design, the series asks: "How can we respond constructively to events motivated by institutionally-reinforced discrimination?"

Launched in Fall 2022, the series opens its Spring 2023 lineup on March 1 with Jenny Sabin, the Arthur L. and Isabel B. Wiesenberger Professor in Architecture and the inaugural Chair for the new multi-college Department of Design Tech at the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

Sabin, an architect, designer and artist, will present "Biosynthetic Design: Towards Adaptive Architecture," an exploration of Sabin's ongoing transdisciplinary research and design spanning the fields of cell biology, materials science, physics, fiber science, fashion, mechanical and structural engineering, and architecture.

The lecture series is free and open to the public. All events take place from 6 pm – 7:30 pm in Hayes 403, unless otherwise noted, and include continuing education credits for practitioners in the architecture and urban planning professions. 

In addition to Sabin’s March 1 presentation, the full lineup of the Spring 2023 series is as follows:

• March 29: Andrew Shanken is a professor of architecture at the Berkeley College of Environmental Design. His lecture is titled "Why Memorials Are Strange," focusing on architecture and memory, the history of preservation, and how cultural constructions of memory shape the built environment (and vice versa).
• April 5: Sheila Crane is associate professor and chair of the Architectural History Department at the University of Virginia. Her lecture is titled “Up-rooting / Re-rooting: Ephemeral histories & strategies of repair from Algeria" and will focus on the ephemeral histories and seemingly small-scale initiatives of collective restitution in Algeria.
• April 19: Alison Brooks presents our 2023 Bethune Lecture. Her lecture is titled “Context is Everything” and will cover her practice's recent work, with a focus on four ideals: civicness, authenticity, generosity, and beauty.
• April 26: Iftikhar Hakim, chief planner for Kashmir and Jammu, joins us as our 2023 Jammal International Fellow. He will present "Fifty Years of Urban Planning in the Kashmir Valley" focusing on the spatial planning of Srinagar tracing the history of the plan documents from the date the formal planning was instituted in the Valley.

Additional public programs presented by the School this semester include:

• March 8, 6th Annual Table Talks: UB's Senenmut Alumni Association hosts the 6th annual Table Talks, bringing students, faculty, and allied arts and industry leaders together to raise awareness of professional opportunities in Western New York to build up our city and our workforce. This year's Table Talks lecture is titled "Working Relationships: Client | Architect." Learn more and register for Table Talks 2023.
  
• April 10-14, Atelier 2023: Join us this Spring as we open our doors to the community in celebration of the people, ideas and values that drive us at the School of Architecture and Planning. Carrying on a tradition that dates back more than 30 years, Atelier Week frontlines our students and their work and celebrates the vibrant intellectual life of our School. View the full lineup and RSVP today!

• Open Studio, April 12: All are invited to join us for our signature School-wide open house. Members of the public are invited to a School-wide reception and tours of our spaces for learning and making as we put the work of our students and faculty on full display.
• Beaux-Arts Ball, April 14: This cherished student-led tradition is reinstated this year as a celebration for students, faculty, staff and alumni. Many thanks to our co-sponsor, UB’s Office of Alumni Engagement. Venue and ticketing details to come.
• Additional events: Pecha Kucha Night (April 11) features an evening of creative, short-format storytelling by our students; our annual Dodgeball Tournament (April 13) invites teams of students, faculty, staff and alumni to compete for bragging rights.