First Day of School “Architecture is situated at a unique moment in history where a convergence of global interests demand that our discipline responds in a critical and innovative manner… ” (Evan Douglis, Dean) Architecture Rensselaer launches all-school publication A historic all-school publication that embodies the school’s transdisciplinary approach to education, consistent theme of radical speculation, innovative pedagogical methods, and research addressing major global challenges. Professor Kenneth L. Warriner Memorial Lecture Series Founder of the influential studio Morphosis and co-founder of the Southern California Institute of Architecture, Thom Mayne marries conceptual ideas with form, challenging the way we perceive structure, building and the environment. Internationally renowned Chilean architect Smiljan Radić is transcending contemporary architectural labels by emphasizing heterogeneity of social context, environment, and materiality in his practice, founded in 1995.
The Positions Series is a collection of student-led conversational discussion events taking place at the Rensselaer School of Architecture. International study is a defining aspect of Rensselaer’s architectural education. The School of Architecture offers international semester long programs in Italy, India, and China. Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center EMPAC opened its doors in 2008 and was soon hailed as a “technological pleasure dome for the mind and senses… dedicated to the marriage of art and science as it has never been done before” (NY Times). Theodore Spyropoulos : Behavioural Frameworks Theodore Spyropoulos is co-founder of experimental architecture and design studio Minimaforms, and Director of the Architectural Association’s world renowned Design Research Lab (AADRL) in London. Smart Geometry Conference at Rensselaer MATERIAL INTENSITIES, the challenge of this recent conference, intended to dissolve our notion of the built environment as inert constructions enclosing physically sealed spaces.
Host_Directors: Demetrios Comodromos, Jefferson Ellinger. ... we take pride in preparing our students to become future leaders in the profession. We aspire to creating an environment and culture throughout the School that rewards the nobility of ideas, the roots of theoretical inquiry, and the merits of social responsibility. Spring 2017 Lecture SeriesWilliam Horgan (Grimshaw Partners); All events start 6:00pm at EMPAC. 110 8th Street / Troy, NY 12180. Post Professional Program in Architecture & Urbanism Geofutures endeavors to convert crisis into opportunity by harnessing both the pressures of a planet at risk and the promise of emerging environmental technologies to generate a broad spectrum of possible, if not probable, urban and architectural futures for the twenty-first century. Master of Architecture [Professional Degree] The practice of architecture in the 21st century is increasingly driven by heightened cultural, social and environmental issues. Our top-tier program offers a comprehensive and dynamic curriculum comprised of digital design, emerging fabrication technologies, environmental simulation software, new materials, and the opportunity to engage in a range of cross-disciplinary collaborations.
“The education of the architect at Rensselaer is looking ahead. It is looking into the future to prepare students to go out to the world and do something transformative. We are preparing students not only to become future practitioners, but to become future leaders.” Fall 2016 Lecture Series LECTURE SERIES (FALL 2016). All lectures unless otherwise noted start 6:00pm at EMPAC / The Curtis R. Priem Experimental Media + Performing Arts Center . 110 8th Street, Troy NY 12180. Contemporary Design Conference is from 2-7:00pm on Tuesday, November 8th. This obvious class-policing is not a Centaurus problem, it is an Islamabad problem. Drowning in busloads of unwashed masses from Islamabad’s unfanciful twin in the south, the Centaurus Mall has introduced an entrance fee for crowd control. The kind of people exempted from the fee, reflect upon the refined tastes of the denizens of our capital city.Islamabad’s wide-open boulevards have long served as convenient playgrounds for the people of Rawalpindi, seeking sanative refuge from the narrower streets laden with webs of over-ground electrical wiring.
It is no secret that many, if not most, Islamabadis find this casual tourism somewhat perturbing.With the launch of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad metro bus system, this ‘tourism’ is expected to expand. The Pakistani social media is already brimming with angry tweets and Facebook status updates by Islamabadis, bemoaning the horrid excess of Pindi boys in the malls of Islamabad; some as far as boycotting these places in protest.‘Pindi boys’ (or “boyses”) is the pejorative term used for the stereotypical slimy-haired, gaudily clothed, Punjabi accented youngsters of Rawalpindi who journey to Islamabad, usually in large groups of predominantly male friends, to enjoy the sights and sounds of our nation’s capital.I happen to be one of those Pindi boys, though in all honesty, my hair is reasonably dry.Also read: Want to visit Islamabad's Centaurus Mall? That'll be 100 rupeesThe Centaurus Mall acted swiftly, enacting a modest Rs. 100 entrance fee — a small price to experience the splendour of a world-class shopping mall, of which the unfortunate souls of Rawalpindi are bereft.
The list starts with obvious exemptions: young children, senior citizens, and…uh...“special people”. It then expands to include government employees, and members of sectors that basically define all of Islamabad and the people who live and work there. Naturally, all diplomats, foreigners, MNAs and MPAs, members of elite Islamabad country clubs are exempted, as are “famous” TV celebrities and athletes; how it is to be decided whether a person is ‘famous’ enough to enter the mall with a hundred rupees to spare, awaits explanation.To Rawalpindi, it extends a warm, free welcome, but only to the members of the armed forces, among a few other classic Pindi institutions. More generally, it exempts executive directors and managers of multinational companies, as well as university faculty members and doctors (hurray, I’m in!). The entire notice, is essentially a way of telling youngsters, particularly the Pindi boys that frighten the monocles off the Islamabad citizens, that they’re the type of people the Centaurus administration is less-than-eager to see inside the premises.
The list is a transparent game of Taboo, with the administration struggling to say “lower class” or “Pindi boys”, without actually saying the phrase.Kashif Butt, marketing director of the Mall, noted: “The fact is that because of summer vacations, there are a lot of young people who loiter for hours.”I wonder how that phenomenon is unique to the Twin Cities? Don’t young people hang around malls in other countries, say America; lazing around the central water feature, or sipping iced tea for hours in the food court? Surely, it is not a surprise that a shopping mall is a public space where people often gather and socialise?And the administration certainly doesn’t seem to mind youngsters from any of the privileged categories of people loitering around, including young doctors and country club brats?Know that, at the end, this obvious class-policing is not a Centaurus problem, it is an Islamabad problem, and it is a shameful one. It is a matter of the elites marking their territory;