This symposium is organized by the Architectural Studies Program at Middlebury College and made possible with funds provided by the Cameron Visiting Architect Program and the Museum and Visual Arts Council.
“Architecture for All” means that everyone, everywhere, deserves architecture. It means that architecture is not a luxury or a privilege, reserved for the few, the wealthy, or the cognoscenti, but belongs to all of humanity. It means that there is a way to practice architecture that can benefit all, in all corners of society, including the overlooked and underserved. It truly means for all: all people, all places, all prices, all programs (as functions are called in architectural terminology).
The architects participating in this symposium range from the internationally known to the locally active. They all practice architecture in ways that challenge conventions and stereotypes. They create buildings with modest materials, for clients on shoestring budgets. They make dignified spaces that are open and accessible to everyone. They bring architecture to utilitarian structures and to remote places. They teach and inspire. They build alongside volunteers. In short, they practice architecture in ways that give back, rather than take from, and in ways that honor place and people, instead of self.
Architecture is not a privilege, it’s a right.
Join our symposium guests, faculty, and members of Architecture Table (Middlebury College’s architecture club) for an informal discussion over lunch.
MIDDLEBURY College STUDENTS ONLY
LUNCH PROVIDED
Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by Ben Allred, Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
Susan Rodriguez will discuss designing in the public realm and the creation of buildings and spaces that distill the essence of cultures and communities. She will share a series of projects that serve a diverse range of communities from off-the-grid rural locations to dense urban neighborhoods of New York City.
Free and Open to the Public
Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by John McLeod, Associate Professor of Architecture
Marlon will discuss his architecture and design process through the lens of “radical practice.” The richness of the work, its methods, and its consequences suggest an open-endedness, at once generous and provocative, to the practice’s trajectory and interest in what a “radical practice” can be in the contemporary moment. A core principle at the heart of the practice, radical in its fundamental simplicity, is the assertion of the making of buildings and places as a constant, authentic focus…an architecture in the place, of the place and for the place for anywhere and for anyone with dignity, wonder and joy…
Free and Open to the Public
Join our symposium guests, faculty, and Middlebury College students for an informal discussion over lunch.
MIDDLEBURY College STUDENTS ONLY
LUNCH PROVIDED
Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by Misty Kaplan, Visiting Instructor in Architecture
This talk will focus on the issue of space as it relates to the human body. I have always felt that the very issue of space, that seems at the very core of what architecture is about, is not adequately talked about or understood. So I will attempt to talk about this elusive topic from my own early experiences in life, to becoming an architect, and finally to designing a project for those on the autistic spectrum whose sensibilities are so much related to the issue of space.
Free and Open to the Public
Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by John McLeod, Associate Professor of Architecture
As a practice, we are committed to the idea that a building represents a belief system. This is exemplified by the way it contains and nurtures the events and people inside. Through projects including the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall in New York City and the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago, Billie Tsien will illustrate how architecture has the ability to open those institutions that have traditionally felt closed, creating an architecture for all.
Free and Open to the Public
Welcome by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Introduction and Q&A by Sam Ostrow, Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
As our planet warms, change is happening at an alarming rate. Natural disasters occur more frequently, endangering the health and resiliency of many species, including humanity. Natural systems and processes race to adapt as human activity and exploitation of resources challenge thebalance and capacity of our planet. What does this mean for architecture? Architects operate comfortably in future tense. We are trained to think about, imagine, instruct, and plan for acollective and sustainable future. In their presentation, Andrea and Megan will share information about VIA’s proactive and forward-thinking design and construction processes. They will share several projects that carefully consider resilience, equity, accessibility, carbon, and (of course!) delight.
Free and Open to the Public
Welcome and Introduction by Pieter Broucke, Director of Architectural Studies
Post-presentation panel discussion, Architectural Studies Faculty
John will discuss three examples from his practice and teaching that demonstrate his belief in architecture’s ability to serve anyone and anywhere: the recent renovation of Johnson Memorial Building; the Architectural Studies/Habitat for Humanity Housing Design program at Middlebury; and “Design Assembly”—his firm’s summer community design-build program. The projects he will present range in scale from small to large, and in duration from eight days to several years. Whether designed and built by students or professionals, all of the projects demonstrate an attempt at community engagement through the process and product of architecture.
Free and Open to the Public
A guided visit through the renovated Johnson Building and a visit to the Architecture for All exhibition in the Johnson Gallery.
Free and Open to the Public
Architecture Table, Middlebury College’s academic interest club centered on all things architecture, cordially invite all Middlebury College Students, Faculty, and Staff to a festive Beaux-Arts Ball in the Johnson Atrium. Formal attire encouraged but not required.
Throughout the week the Johnson Gallery will feature the work Marlon Blackwell Architects, Susan T Rodriguez Architects, Turner Brooks, and Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects. The Johnson Gallery will be open during the following hours:
Sunday: 9:00am-7:00pm
Monday: 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00-7:00pm
Tuesday: 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00-7:00pm
Wednesday: 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00-7:00pm
Thursday: 9:00am-12:00pm, 1:00-7:00pm
Friday: 9:00am-7:00pm
Saturday: 10:00am-5:00pm
Part of the Middlebury Sites Network