Time and Place

Time: 4:30pm (Central)
Location: Architecture and Urban Planning Room 170 – UWM Campus – 2131 E Hartford Ave, Milwaukee, WI 53211

LECTURE: Architecture is Alive presentation by Joseph Altshuler, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture, Assistant Professor

Lecture Summary:

Architecture is alive, and lively. Not “alive” as merely a metaphor or analogy, but as an animated state-of-being that is capable of enacting agency in the world. This lecture offers a lens through which we might read the world as composed almost entirely of animated beings with character, in relation to other beings, at a range of scales, and in various contexts. From exuberant interiors to interactive public spaces, we’ll imagine architecture as animate creature that abounds with vibrant color, shapely form, and interpersonal intimacy. This lively way of seeing the world retrains the perception of our own human personhood to acknowledge how much more we have in common with our architectural companions than that which the conventional built environment recognizes. Perhaps if we’re better able to empathize with our buildings, then we might cultivate deeper empathy for our fellow humans as well.

BIO:

Joseph Altshuler is cofounder of Could Be Design, an award-winning Chicago-based design practice, and an Assistant Professor in the School of Architecture. He is also the director of the Architectural Companionship Laboratory, a design research collective that works at the intersection of architecture, public art, creative placemaking, and tactical urbanism. His teaching, practice, and scholarship explore architecture’s capacity to build lively audiences, initiate serious play, and amplify participation in civic life.

Questions, comments?

All lectures are free and open to planners, students, staff, faculty, and friends of the University. Please contact Karl Wallick, Department of Architecture