Through the consideration of cultures and communities, contemporary social issues, and environmental challenges, projects taken on by Rubacha Featured Speakers Susan Rodriguez ('81, B.Arch. '82) and Michael Manfredi (M.Arch. '80) engage the intersections of architecture and the public realm.

On October 23, the two speakers, both of whom are also active members of the AAP Advisory Council, will discuss key work built at these crossroads, followed by a Q&A moderated by Architecture Chair and Professor Jose Castillo. They will share design perspectives drawn from real-world examples and the inspiration that considered research and collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches have brought to their careers.

"Work in the public realm is caring deeply about how it's going to affect people's lives," says Rodriguez, who leads the New York City-based firm Susan T Rodriguez | Architecture · Design (STR | A·D). 

Underlining the importance of not simply imposing a personal vision but finding inspiration in the unique story each project and site has to tell, Rodriguez explains, "It's very much about trying to understand what has gone on before as one thinks about an architecture that's connected very specifically to place and the culture surrounding it, how deeply informed you need to be about that place to create something that's really fused with the circumstances. That then gives you inspiration and makes it something that, in many ways, ultimately seems like it's always been there because it's so deeply connected to that understanding."

The work of WEISS/MANFREDI is similarly committed to research in order to advance design thinking and deeply consider current challenges and opportunities. "In the work I do lies the conviction that in the face of complex problems, whether social or environmental, there are opportunities for a set of creative propositions," says Manfredi. "That's the beauty of what architecture can do. It brings a constellation of different disciplines together and hopefully puts forward an original, creative provocation, either at the scale of a building, in the networks of open spaces, or in the form of a chair. The scale doesn't matter."

"For me," he continues, "these challenges, daunting as they may be and intractable as some of them are, offer incredible opportunities for new approaches and solutions."

Continue reading on the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning website.