Harvard GSD announces fall 2025 public programs and exhibitions

How have oceans shaped the spaces and buildings we live in? This is the question we are exploring this week at the European Architectural History Network thematic conference The Built Ocean, organized by André Tavares and his team at the University of Porto. I have the pleasure to be chairing the session on Resources, with presentations by Dr Andrew Toland, Maryia Rusak, Qingyun Lin, Pari Riahi and Jonathan Galka. Join the discussion if you are around: https://lnkd.in/emmPaSEa

I'm pleased to share that the roundtable essay "Spaces of Indigenous Learning and Unlearning in Canada and the United States" is available to read for free in the newest issue of the JSAH until Oct. 22. Thanks to our amazing editors Anne Lawrason Marshall and Jason Tippeconnic Fox, Ph.D. (Comanche/Cherokee)! The essay features work by Shawn Brigman (Spokane Tribe), Anjelica S. Gallegos (Jicarilla Apache/Santa Ana Pueblo), James K. Bird (Dënësųłinë́/Metis), Christian Nakarado (Sault Ste. Marie Chippewa), Mel Rovner, PhD, Elisa Dainese, Karla Britton, Johnpaul Jones FAIA (Choctaw/Cherokee), and Daniel J. Glenn (Apsáalooke-Crow). The contributions examine traditional spaces of learning, boarding/residential schools, reclamations of colonial space, and contemporary Indigenous educational architecture. The roundtable includes a piece on the 1961 St. Mary's residential school in Mission, BC in which I look at architecture as evidence of the ongoing influence of the Roman Catholic church amid government efforts to secularize Indigenous education in postwar Canada.

The world’s first museum devoted entirely to Brutalist architecture has been announced and is set to open in a secondary school in North London in 2027. The Acland Burghley School, designed by Howell Killick Partridge & Amis and completed in 1968, was chosen for the Museum of Brutalist Architecture (MoBA), in part, because it is one of the last remaining Brutalist school buildings in the United Kingdom. The 1,000-student school, characterized by its expressive use of raw materials and its rigorous volumes that produce a clear structural image, received Grade II protection in 2016. The announced renovation of the school’s hexagonal assembly hall, which will house the museum, will be funded by a roughly $1.3 million grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, awarded in 2022. Read more about the project, led by Reed Watts Architects, and the architectural movement that inspired it here: https://brnw.ch/21wVf6g Words by Patrick Templeton Photo by Robert Lamb, Wikimedia Commons #brutalism #brutalistarchitecture

The Daniels Faculty is pleased to announce that Yusuke Obuchi has been named the 2025-26 Frank Gehry International Visiting Chair in Architectural Design. During his time at the Faculty, Obuchi will be teaching an option studio, called Radical Maintenance – a concept that repositions maintenance as a creative, transformative, and future-oriented design practice. Rather than focusing solely on building new, this studio will explore how care and stewardship of existing infrastructures can reshape our understanding of sustainability, time, and value., on the mixing of old and new in the context of domestic architecture. Yusuke Obuchi is an Associate Professor of Architecture at the University of Tokyo, where he has directed the Obuchi Laboratory since 2010 and co-founded the Advanced Design Studies Program. Previously, he co-directed the Design Research Laboratory at the Architectural Association in London (2005–2010). He studied architecture at Princeton, SCI-Arc, and the University of Toronto, and has taught at Princeton, Harvard GSD, Hong Kong University, the University of Kentucky, and NJIT. Obuchi will kick-off our Fall Public Program on Thursday, September 18. Learn more at daniels.utoronto.ca.

The 2025 Symposium of Urban Design History and Theory (SUDHT) will be held on September 18-21, 2025 at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning. The purpose of the Symposium of Urban Design History and Theory is to create a forum for those whose scholarship relates to urban design. Cathelijne Nuijsink and Eric Häusler will be chairing a session called "Reimagining Urban Futures: Collaborative Dialogues Across Disciplines". María Novas will be presenting the paper "Between the Street and the Home. The Urban Dimensions of the Women’s Advisory Committee Rotterdam’s Advice." Tom Avermaete will give a keynote lecture entitled ‘Toward Reciprocal Histories of Urban Design’. The 2025 Symposium of Urban Design History and Theory (SUDHT) is convened by Conrad Kickert and Kelly Gregg at the University at Buffalo’s School of Architecture and Planning. Prior editions took place in 2023 at TU Delft (hosted by Prof. Dr. Janina Gosseye) and in 2021 at ETH Zürich (hosted by Prof. Dr. Tom Avermaete). https://sudht.org/ Image: Aerial view of Buffalo taken in 1945 by the Army Air Force. From National Archives and Records Administration via wikimedia commons.

The power of collective intelligence: Biennale di architettura What’s the value of a major exhibition like the Architecture Biennale? Not just the displayed works, but the creation of a laboratory for collective intelligence — natural, artificial, shared. Carlo Ratti framed it so: to face a burning world, architecture must connect architects, biologists, craftsmen, engineers… even philosophers. To me, this confirms something I practice: design thrives when born from a network of knowledge, not an isolated discipline. At the core of a Midsummer bed lies a weave of nature, culture, craftsmanship — not a single approach.

« (…) our profession of architects should relearn the art of humility and modesty to replace the air of arrogance and egocentrism so prevalent in today’s artistic and architectural world. Joseph Brodsky writes: “Poetry is a tremendous school of insecurity and uncertainty […]. Poetry teaches us humility, and very quickly, especially if we are both writers and readers at the same time.” The same happens with architecture. The art of architecture does not simplify the world into self-evident truths or formulas. On the contrary, great buildings open up the mysteries, complexities, and unpredictabilities of the world and of human life, but in doing so they provide the true foundation for understanding, freedom, and dignity. » Author: Juhani Pallasmaa Title: Rootedness: Reflections for Young Architects Publisher: Wiley

One of the privileges of working in higher education is being surrounded by people way smarter than me who are working daily to solve some of our toughest global challenges. Edward Becker, SAFA, one of the rock stars in the Virginia Tech College of Architecture, Arts, and Design, has just been named a Fulbright Scholar for his work researching mass timber architecture and building to make construction more sustainable for us all. 👏 Read more => https://lnkd.in/eQKFPCTD

Princeton University is preparing to open the doors to a transformative new cultural space. On October 31, 2025, the Princeton University Art Museum will debut its 146,000-square-foot building, designed by Adjaye Associates with executive architects Cooper Robertson. The bold design, built of interconnected pavilions in heavy timber, glass, bronze, and concrete, doubles the museum’s space for galleries, learning, and public engagement—including 80,000 square feet dedicated to exhibitions. Two new “artwalk” pathways will connect the museum to the heart of campus, reinforcing its role as a cultural gateway. Years in the making, the new building creates capacity for ambitious programming, including the flagship exhibition “Princeton Collects”, featuring works by Rothko, Mitchell, and Richter. Rooted in Princeton’s architectural history yet fully contemporary in its accessibility and storytelling, this museum will be both a community hub and a major destination for art lovers. #Princeton #ArtMuseum #Architecture #AdjayeAssociates #NewMuseum #CulturalHeritage #Museums #PublicEngagement #Exhibitions #Education #Community