Thursday / October 02, 2014 / 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
The Ecological Imagination: Life and the Design of Urban Public Space
Logan Center for the Arts, The University of Chicago, 915 East 60th Street (at Drexel Blvd.), Chicago
British-born landscape architect James Corner is at the forefront of today’s landscape urbanism movement, combining landscape architecture, urban design, landscape ecology and engineering, to create innovative solutions for modern day cities, landscapes and social places. Corner’s practice, James Corner Field Operations, is renowned for strong contemporary design across a variety of high-profile project types and scales. Corner’s visionary designs, such as the High Line in Manhattan and FreshKills Park in Staten Island, have transformed city districts and complex post-industrial sites into vibrant urban destinations.
In 2012, Corner was awarded the commission to redevelop Chicago’s Navy Pier. His design is a central feature of Navy Pier’s Centennial Vision, which seeks to make the "People’s Pier a truly iconic and world-class destination as it approaches its 100th anniversary in 2016."
Corner’s work has been recognized by the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum 2010 National Design Award; the New York City Arts Commission Award for Excellence in Design; the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award for Design; the D&AD Black Pencil Award (Gold Medal), London; the Daimler-Chrysler Award for Design Innovation; the Architectural League of New York Design Award; and other professional design awards and prizes. James Corner Field Operations was named one of the world’s most influential design firms by Time (2010).
As the 2014 speaker for Thinking into the Future: The Robie House Series on Architecture, Design and Ideas, Corner explores “how to have a high-quality public realm” in the twenty-first century. Hear his ideas about the design of nature and social life in the city, illustrated through his projects with New York’s High Line and Chicago’s Navy Pier.
James Corner’s new book, The Landscape Imagination: Collected Essays of James Corner 1990-2010 (Princeton Architectural Press, 2014) will be available for purchase at the event. A book signing will take place following the lecture.
Click here to register through the Frank Lloyd Wright Trust. Tickets: $20 Frank Lloyd Wright Trust members, University of Chicago alumni, faculty and staff, and AIA Chicago members; $25 non-members; $5 students. Cocktail reception: 5 pm, Lecture: 6 pm, Book signing: 6:45 pm.
Thinking into the Future: The Robie House Series on Architecture, Design and Ideas engages leading international, national, and Chicago voices in architecture, design, and contemporary culture that point the direction to a bright and promising future for the next generation.
