School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation Hosts its 2017 Fall Events Series

BRISTOL, R.I. – Continuing a long-established tradition, the School of Architecture, Art and Historic Preservation is hosting a series of lectures from distinguished scholars and practitioners, and is home to an exhibit for the largest architecture award in the world as part of the 2017 Fall Event Series.

The Event Series, which has been offered since the Architecture program began in 1982, provides students, faculty and the greater RWU community an opportunity to interact with and be inspired by accomplished speakers and exhibitors from the fields of architecture, art and architectural history, and historic preservation.

“We are not an audience of passive listeners," said Stephen White, dean of the school. “We are one of people who consider significant ideas presented, and who act on their own to create significant works locally and globally.”

The school has hosted some of the most significant architecture figures in the world. Most notable this year are Todd Williams and Billie Tsien, a widely renowned award-winning architect team and designers of the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago.

The series is currently underway. Most recently, the school hosted Christoph Reinhart, a professor at MIT, who is a leading figure in the area of building simulation and sustainability. Later on, the school will host professor and art historian Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio, a specialist in Italian and Spanish sculpture of the 16th and 17th centuries.

On Oct. 11, the school will host Tanvir Hasan, deputy chairman of Donald Insall Associates in London, which is one of the leading firms working in architectural conservation in the United Kingdom.

As part of the series, the school is also hosting the Aga Khan Award for Architecture exhibition, which features an impressive array of winning and shortlisted projects from the 2016 cycle. Given every three years, it is the largest award for architecture in the world. Its focus is on architecture being built around the world in societies that have a significant Muslim presence.

“A guiding principle of the award is the idea of plurality – that is, of striving for inclusion and embracing the engagement of a diverse group of users, as well as exploring a range of architectural approaches aimed at achieving that goal,” said Nathan Fash, AIA, assistant professor of architecture at RWU who organized the series and exhibit. “This is clearly evident in the wonderfully varied range of project types and scales that you can see in the exhibition.”

It was a theme that the Fall Event Series’ first speaker – Farrokh Derrakhshani, director of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture – presented on.

The 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture is on display in the SAAHP Gallery until Oct. 28. Visiting hours are Monday to Friday from 9 to 5 P.M.

All events from this series are open to the campus community:

Tanvir Hasan
Wednesday, October 11
6:00pm
D.F. Pray Foundation Lecture Theatre - SAAHP 132

Jay Valgora
Wednesday, October 18
6:00pm
D.F. Pray Foundation Lecture Theatre - SAAHP 132

Architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien (part of the President's Distinguished Lecture Series)
Wednesday, October 25
7:00pm
Campus Recreation Center Gymnasium

Haril Pandya
Wednesday, November 1
6:00pm
D.F. Pray Foundation Lecture Theatre - SAAHP 132

Kelley Helmstutler Di Dio
Wednesday, November 15
6:00pm
D.F. Pray Foundation Lecture Theatre - SAAHP 132