Design Corps

Our Communities: FuturePresent

The FuturePresent symposium and initiative at the Harvard Graduate School of Design serves to amplify discussion of the interrelationship between marginalized cultural environments, (schools of) architecture, and renewed leadership of minority architects. FuturePresent seeks to energize a network of students, professionals and academics to think critically across the design disciplines and to proactively and in collaboration work to increase diversity within landscape/architecture, urban planning and design.

Our Communities >> Too often design discourse foregrounds a generic "urban" over the more political "community" or "neighborhood," and ignores the significance of culturally-loaded terrirtories linked to terminology such as "Our." Can we make design more relevant to marginalized communities through advocacy and design?

FuturePresent >> What can today's new generation of young designers do now to increase underrepresented minority presence in academia and practice?

For more information and registration click here.

Working Schedule

Thursday, April 3, 2008
Gund Hall Lobby and Piper Auditorium

9:00-10:00am--Registration & Coffee

10:00-11:00am--Panel I:

Derek Ham, Assistant Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Florida Agricultural and Technical University

11:00-12:00am--Panel II:

David Lee, FAIA, Principal, Stull and Lee, Adjunct Professor, Harvard Graduate School of Design

Clifton James, President and CEO of the Urban Design Research Center, Inc

12:30-1:30pm--Lunch

1:30-2:00pm--PresentationI: Race and “Architecture”

Craig Barton, Chair, Department of Architecture and Landscape
Architecture, University of Virginia

2:00-2:30pm--Panel III: Minority “Recruiting”

MIT MITES Program (Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science)

Boston Architectural CollegeSummerAcademy

Harvard GSD Project Link

2:30pm--Workshop: Strategic Plan

Steve Lewis, President-Elect, National Organization of Minority

Architects

4:30pm--Wrap-up

6:00-7:30pm--Public Keynote: What are the boundaries of “Design”?

Maurice Cox, Director of Design, National Endowment of the Arts;

Toni Griffin, Director of Community Development, Newark Department
of Economic and Housing Development

Jason Glenn, Assistant Professor of the History of Medicine,
University of Texas

7:30pm--Reception