MoMA Curator to Speak at Design Forum

Posted on by cguske
Photo courtesy of Architect Magazine.
Photo courtesy of Architect Magazine.

The Virginia Design Forum has gotten even more compelling with the confirmation of Terence Riley, AIA, as the opening night keynote speaker. He has been at the center of critical thinking in architecture from the very beginning of his career and will offer his insight into Dwelling: The Art of Living in Century XXI. The Forum will be held in Charlottesville on April 11-12, interwoven with the UVA Founder’s Day and the Tom Tom Founder’s Festival events.

Renowned for his museum curatorial work yet, by his own description, primarily an architect, Terence Riley, AIA, co-founded Keenen/Riley in 1984. The K/R architectural studio is widely recognized for its designs for art museums, galleries, artists, and collectors. An acclaimed author and contributor to journals and other publications on design, he lectures frequently and has taught at the Harvard GSD, among many other schools of design.

Riley served from 1991 to 2006 as the Philip Johnson Chief Curator for Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) where he curated critical exhibitions on both historical figures—Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe—and contemporary architects—Rem Koolhaas, Jacques Herzog and Pierre DeMeuron, and Bernard Tschumi. From 2006 until 2010, he was director and design consultant for the Miami Art Museum (MAM), leading the institution through its transformative process of planning and designing its new waterfront facility.

Riley has advised a number of important cultural institutions in their strategic planning—in addition to his roles at MoMA and MAM—including the Reina Sofia National Museum in Madrid and the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires. K/R has provided master planning and programming for the Museum of Art, Design, and the Environment (Murcia, Spain), the Hangzhou Urban Cultural Center (Hangzhou, China), and the Oficina Francisco Brennand (Recife, Brazil). He was the Chief Curator of the 2011 Shenzhen-Hong Kong Biennale of Urbanism/Architecture.

Riley currently serves on the editorial board for the Architect’s Newspaper and is a past Van Alen Institute trustee.

On Saturday, the program features presentations by Kai-Uwe Bergmann, AIA, principal, BIG, with offices in Copenhagen and New York City; Peter Gluck, principal of the New York City design-build firm GLUCK+; Jeff Kovel, founder of Skylab, Portland, Ore.; and Ma Yansong founder of MAD Architects. Each of these firms is known for outstanding residential architecture as well as a focus on community and environmental health and well-being. Register >>

Please help us thank our sponsors for their generous support of the Virginia Design Forum:

Corporate          

Clark Nexsen

Benefactor        

HITT Contracting

College of William and Mary

Patron                 

Clark Construction Group, LLC.

EvensonBest

Forest City

Reed Construction Data

SHW Group

University of Virginia School of Architecture

Sustaining         

Va. Tech School of Architecture + Design

BCWH

Supporter          

2rw Consultants, Inc.

AIA Northern Virginia

Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company

KBS, Inc.

L. F. Jennings, Inc.

Mark S. Orling, AIA

Edwin J. Pease, AIA

Reader & Swartz Architects

Riverside Brick & Supply

The Shockey Companies

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.

National Advocacy Update

Posted on by cguske

Over the past few months, the AIA has spearheaded an effort to bring the design and construction industry together to press lawmakers to address the challenges that are holding our industry back.  On Dec. 7, 2011, our coalition sent a letter to President Obama and all members of Congress outlining actions they need to take to create stability in the economy and promote growth in the private sector.  (You can read the letter here.) This week, AIA President Clark Manus, FAIA, delivered this message to top White House officials, and AIA National Board members took to Capitol Hill to call on Congress to act.

How can you help? By asking your representatives to support common-sense, bipartisan legislation that will address one of the biggest factors impeding recovery: the lack of financing for worthy design projects.

The AIA is a leading supporter of HR 1356 the Capital Access for Main Street Act of 2011, a bipartisan bill that would help small community banks write off debt over a longer period of time, which would free up capital for lending.  This is an approach that worked following an agricultural crisis in the 1980s to help business recover, and it does not cost the taxpayers a dime in funding.  This bill passed the House in 2010 with strong support, but did not make it through the Senate before the election.

We have a real chance to get this legislation through Congress, but for that to happen it needs more representatives to learn about it and support it. Therefore, we would like you to ask your House representative to cosponsor HR 1356.  The AIA Advocacy Center has a letter for you to send.

Even as we demand Congress and the White House take action to improve the economy, we are not waiting on Washington to act. Last month, the AIA launched its stalled projects campaign.  This site is designed to help connect investors with design and construction projects. Already investors with $7 billion in funding have signed up.  So please take a look and add your projects to the list.

There is no silver bullet to fixing the problems in the economy. But by marshaling the forces of our entire industry, asking our elected leaders to act on common-sense policies, and connecting investors to projects, together we can help to make a difference and get our profession back to work.

Sincerely,

Paul T. Mendelsohn

Vice-President, AIA Government and Community Relations