Former U.S. President Barack Obama has been announced as the surprise headline speaker on Day 3 of this year’s A’22 Conference in Chicago.
Obama will join for a moderated conversation about a yet-unnamed topic at the close of the conference’s Friday session on June 24th at the McCormick Place Convention Center.
His appearance follows that of his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama, who spoke at the A’17 conference about the importance of equity and diversity efforts in the world of professional design. The President’s appearance comes just a few months removed from the groundbreaking of the TWBTA-designed Obama Presidential Center complex in Chicago's Jackson Park which is scheduled to open in 2025 following years of delay.
Obama’s legacy and impacts as it relates to the fields of architecture and urban planning are still being examined by scholars, but he was influential in mandating new standards for efficiency in federal buildings as part of his much-publicized vision of “winning the future,” which included the Better Buildings Initiative and several others.
Obama joins architectural luminaries like Vishaan Chakrabarti, Angela Brooks, and moderator Lee Bey as big-ticket names to grace this year’s festivities. Registration information can be found here.
20 Comments
I can hear the cuckservative whining from my living room.
Why is this comment bad?
perfect speaker to reinforce the aia's anti-labor agenda
This article says Obama charges $400,000.00 per speech. W would have done it for only $175,000.00.
https://www.thoughtco.com/form...
between this and the shiny new headquarters, this pyramid scheme is on a roll
We could've had GWB, but he was too busy invading Ukraine, err, I mean Iraq.
A reason why I don't pay for AIA.
THIS?! This was a reason? This? Not the fascists inside the organization, that they refuse to purge? Not the support of the prison industrial complex? But this?
"Let me tell you how I destroyed a good chunk of Frederick Law Olmsted's Jackson Park over the strong objections of many of the largely minority residents of the local neighborhoods."
Why is it every time you post nonsense, anyone with google can easily refute your insipid bullshit?
There are only a couple of hundred articles on the internet about local opposition to the Obama Center destroying a good part of Jackson Park. The opposition ranges from local minority residents to college professors.
You forgot quotes around local.
Volunteer, you do realize that the whole Frederick Law Olmsted's South Park in Chicago is composed of three parts. One part of it is the Jackson Park (eastern division). The Western division part was renamed Washington Park after George Washington during a time when naming parks after Presidents were in vogue... is my guess but okay... whatever. Then the third part is the interconnecting part called Midway Plaisance Park. Collectively, the whole is the "South Park". Now, considering the nature of Frederick Law Olmsted's landscape design/architecture design is mostly that of natural scenery and paths in non-grid pattern aside from the interconnecting part between the two main parts of the park. How much of the park had been altered over the course of history from that of Frederick Law Olmsted's original vision. I'd say some more than perhaps that of Obama's center. The only thing maybe is the style of the building and its verticality might be distracting from the scenic nature of the park as was originally envisioned. Of course, with the course of time, no human development remains static and unchanged especially if human development is still active.
I am sure there is truth to an extent that there was a controversy relating to it being located at the location. However, I rather let the man (Obama) speak and then make decisions instead of throwing a lot of distractions and unnecessary disruption at this AIA conference. Now, that would mean little to me at this time. I, however, am curious about Obama speaking at an AIA conference on architecture.
So, who is advocating for Obama not speaking?
While not directly advocating for Obama not speaking but rather to waste time and be disruptive with questions that he has nothing to do with. Take a look at Eames's comment just below. Kind of a waste to talk to someone who has nothing to do with DC agencies, now. Even then, what questions pertaining to what he did or didn't do while as POTUS would be waste of time because that's the past. Then you want him to speak about his Presidential Library which, by the way is not necessarily the best use of his time. Of course, if the POTUS was talking about the Presidential Library as his main talk points, it may be fair game if there is a Q/A session to inquire questions about whether or not the design is compatible with the landscape design and character that Frederick Law Omsted's design. However, if that isn't the subject, it would be kind of disruptive if it were. I am not sure what the platform format for such keynote talks.
I kind of pick up the dissenting tone by some of those here who comment.
What will Obama be talking about? Maybe he might make a brief commentary about his Presidential library but that might not be his primary topic or discussion. Is it going to be about gun regulations and raising questions of architects about how to make schools more safer in response to mass shooting and such. I suspect that it could be on that kind of area of topic. It can also be on something about sustainable design in terms of addressing, mitigating, responding to global climate change as that has been an element of his presidential legacy and campaign. There can be a number of topics. So what would it be, I don't know but we can certainly look at what he's been talking about recently and maybe it would be related to it.
Under Obama the use of armed drones increased dramatically. As this was done the criteria for using drones changed quite a bit. Whereas originally drone operators, which are USAF officers, typically working out of metal buildings at an Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas, would only launch their weapons when the target, and only their target, would be killed by the drone. Later they have been told to take out groups of people that include the 'target' even though there are women and children present and those are being killed in the strikes as well. This has led to a massive rise in mental illness among drone operators - many of which just refuse to continue in the job and request reassignment or a medical discharge. The ones who continue in the job with no remorse should be of deep concern to all Americans. So, yes, Obama has a lot to talk about it in addition to pretty buildings.
I've always wondered if Obama & Co. considered what the plan will be when Iran and the Taliban acquire lethal drone technology from Russia and China. The ability to remotely assassinate non-military persons is only great as long as nobody else has it.
Volunteer, Ok, you don't like Obama. He's not POTUS anymore and can't serve a third term.
What's the point?
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