Visions and Trajectories for Higher Education and Practice 

Introduction: Maria Perbellini, Dean and Professor, NYIT-School of Architecture and Design; Introduction and Moderation: Trudy Brens, Interim Director, Interior Design Program, NYIT-School of Architecture and Design; David Diamond, Director, M.Arch Program NYIT-School of Architecture and Design;                                   Marcella Del Signore, Director, MS in Urban Design NYIT-School of Architecture and Design;

 “Going transversal: beyond knowledge silos”

Saskia Sassen, Saskia Sassen, The Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Columbia University,

 “Connected Horizons” 

Michael Manfredi, FAIA, Partner, Weiss Manfredi

“LTL Architects in Section”

Paul Lewis, Professor and Associate Professor, Princeton University School of Architecture, Principal LTL Architects 

Saskia Sassen Bios

Saskia Sassen is the Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology and former Chair, Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University. Her books include Cities at War with Mary Kaldor (Columbia University Press, 2020); Expulsions: Brutality and Complexity in the Global Economy (Harvard University Press, 2014; translated into 12 languages); Cities in a World Economy, 5th fully updated edition (Sage); Losing Control: Sovereignty in an Age of Globalization, The Schoff Memorial Lectures, Columbia University Press 1995; New updated edition 2016; Territory, Authority, Rights : From Medieval to Global Assemblages (Princeton University Press, 2008); A Sociology of Globalization (W.W. Norton, 2007); The Global City, (Princeton University Press 1991); The Mobility of Labor and Capital (Cambridge University Press 1988). Her books have been translated into over 20 languages. She is the recipient of diverse awards and mentions, multiple doctor honoris causa, named lectures, selected for various honors lists. She was awarded the Principe de Asturias 2013 Prize in the Social Sciences, selected as one of the top 100 women in the Sciences in 2018, and awarded the Geneva Picciotto Prize in 2020. Web: www. saskiasassen.com

Lecture Description:

Across several decades we have generated diverse specialized knowledge silos. These have worked well for us, and they have helped us separate the multiple differences in our complex formations . But today we have reached a point where the outcomes are too often barely adding new elements or recognizing counter narratives. My aim is to examine the possibility of transversal connections and enablements.

Michael Manfredi Bios

 Bio: Michael Manfredi is cofounder of WEISS/MANFREDI 

Architecture/Landscape/Urbanism based in New York City and is currently a Senior Design Critic at Harvard University. His multidisciplinary firm is at the forefront of architectural design practices that are redefining the relationships between landscape, architecture, infrastructure, and art. Michael Manfredi was born in Trieste, Italy and grew up in Rome. He completed his Bachelor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame and his Master of Architecture at Cornell University where he studied with Colin Rowe. He won the Paris Prize, was a Cornell Fellow and was awarded an Eidlitz Fellowship. He has taught design studios at Yale University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, Cornell and, most recently, at Harvard University. 

Lecture Description: 

Michael Manfredi will present recent projects from WEISS/MANFREDI Architects that will include landscape interventions and issues around resilience, equity, and the relationship between academic scholarship, public space, and the city.  The Tata Innovation Center on Roosevelt Island anticipates environmental challenges such as rising sea levels and increased flood risk and is designed for maximum resilience, all while creating a hub for cross-disciplinary innovation. Additionally, the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Pennsylvania encourages the collaboration, exchange, and integration of knowledge in public and private settings, while also reimagining the relationship between the institution and the city. Hunters Point South Waterfront Park, a new model for resilient urban waterfronts, and the competition winning design for the reimagined La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles will be included in the lecture as well.

Paul Lewis Bios

Paul Lewis FAIA is a Principal at LTL Architects based in New York City. He is Professor and Associate Dean at Princeton University School of Architecture. His firm has completed academic and cultural projects throughout the United States.  LTL are the 2019 NY State AIA firm of the year, have received a National Design Award, have been inducted into the ID Hall of Fame, and have received multiple AIA design awards. LTL’s most recent book, Manual of Section has been translated into five languages. Paul is the President of the Architectural League and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome.

Lecture Description

Drawing upon LTL Architects’ bestselling book, Manual of Section, Paul Lewis will explicate a typology of section and show how each type of section works. Interwoven into the typology, he will present work from his office, LTL Architects to demonstrate how section can be an instrumental design tool.  This will include the winning design for an art center in Telluride, recent work at Poster House, Columbia University, Claremont Colleges, Gallaudet University, The Contemporary Austin and the Hellen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center. Paul will be also presenting the Manual of Physical Distancing by LTL Architects with Guy Nordenson, a manual which currently reached more than 60,000 people.