This Friday, November 8th from 5-7 pm, the next act of The Architecture Play is presented at the John Elliot Center for Architecture and Environmental Design, Kent State University, 132 South Lincoln Street in Kent, Ohio.The Architecture Play is a collaborative multi-annual project by the A+D Architecture and Design Museum, Los Angeles and Kent State University College of Architecture and Environmental Design.Processed as either verb or noun, ‘play,’ despite its numerous instantiations, never obscures the most crucial aspect inherent to all of its forms and shades: a raw potential whose explorative drive pushes the states of being and knowledge, as well as the pre-existent boundaries of the physical and metaphysical environment, in a constant effort to derive value from play. Intimately entwined, play has thus accompanied scientific progress since before the Enlightenment.The Architecture Play, a collaborative project conceived with these oscillating definitions in mind, similarly traces the ludic elements of the architectural discipline while projecting the potentialities of play beyond its preconceived limits. In four acts—a nod to its theatrical definition—the project constructs a complex ecology of actors and networks, of things and thoughts exchanged, transformed, and assembled to probe new avenues for pedagogy, practice, history, and theory of architecture; not simply transgressing boundaries but moving them altogether.Organized by Ivan Bernal, Clemens Finkelstein & Anthony Morey, with participants Taraneh Meshkani, Katie Strand, Jon Yoder, Irene Chin, Gary Fox, Jia Gu, Lisa L. Hsieh, Kyle May, Antonio Petrov, and Leila Anna Wahba.Produced with the support of Faith Chrostowski, Allison McClure, Benjamin Cyvas, Max Hentosh, Nick Ingagliato, Austin Keener, Vincent Noce.
Stepping out, Stepping in
Please join us for a lecture by Jennifer Birkeland on October 24 at 6 PM at the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative, 1309 Euclid Avenue, Suite 200, Cleveland. Ring the intercom at the Euclid Avenue entrance for access to the second floor.Jennifer Birkeland is a founding partner at op – Architecture Landscape in Brooklyn New York; and an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She is a licensed landscape architect in the state of New York, a LEED accredited professional and a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Jennifer received her Master of Landscape Architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and has a Bachelor’s of Science in Landscape Architecture from California Polytechnic State University Pomona.
Her practice approaches design problems by exploring the oppositions established by the vantage points of the two disciplines of focus, landscape architecture and architecture, developing design solutions that strive to disintegrate the subject-object relationship conventionally established between Landscape + Building. Prior to starting her own practice, Jennifer worked on a wide range of projects with the internationally renowned offices of West 8, OLIN, and Ken Smith Workshop.CEU credits (1.5) are available to OCASLA members.This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, contact cudc@kent.edu or 216.357.3434.
River, Nahr, Río Exhibition Reception
Join Kent State University's College of Architecture & Environmental Design and the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative to celebrate the designers who participated in River, Nahr, Río, a collection of work by Kent State architecture students, which is currently on display in the Cleveland Foundation's lobby.The project was a partnership with the Cleveland Foundation’s Creative Fusion: Waterways to Waterways Edition.When:Tuesday, Oct. 22, 20195-7 p.m.Where:Cleveland Foundation Lobby1422 Euclid Ave.Suite 1300Cleveland, OH 44115RSVP HERE
Spaces of Conflict Conference & Exhibition
October 25, 2019 | College of Architecture & Environmental Design, Kent State UniversityOur built environment has always been affected and transformed by conflict.Consequently, design professionals are directly or indirectly influencing the processes of conflict through infrastructural development, urban and architectural interventions, planning policies, and public space making. By bringing together scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners, we aim to debate, exchange ideas, and theoretical perspectives on the role of space in relation to different forms of conflict.The Spaces of Conflict conference is organized as part of the 50th Commemoration of May 4, 1970 event at Kent State where the Ohio National Guard shot four of the KSU students and injured nine during the demonstration event against the US war in Vietnam and Cambodia. This event triggered many nationwide protests and demonstrations in other universities.Friday, October 25, 2019 | Conference begins at 9:00 AM. The day-long event is free and open to the public but REGISTRATION is required.
- Keynote Lecture: Felicity D. Scott at 5:30 pm
- Exhibit Opening at 6:45 PM in the Armstrong Gallery.
- Speakers: Silvia Danielak | Delia Duong Ba Wendel | Tali Hatuka | Samia Henni | Tahl Kaminer | Dina Khatib | Taraneh Meshkani Deen Sharp | Aleksandar Staničić | Hazem Ziada
CUDC Fall Lectures & Programs
Please join us for the CUDC's Fall Lecture Series. All events are free open to the public.
September 18 | Noon | CUDC GalleryQuilian Riano, Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative | Negotiating Bodies
September 25 | Noon | CUDC GalleryDominic Mathew, Fund for Our Economic Future | No Car » No Job, No Job » No Car
October 2 | Noon | CUDC GalleryDavid Jurca, Seventh Hill LLC | Design to TransformOctober 7 | 5:30 PM | Cene Lecture HallCollege of Architecture + Environmental Design | Kent State UniversityKaren M’Closkey + Keith VanDerSys, peg landscape + architecture | Ground Control 
October 24 | 6PM | CUDC GalleryJennifer Birkeland, OP – Architecture Landscape | Stepping out, Stepping in
October 31 | 9AM | Irishtown Bend Welcome Center, 1701 West 25th St.Malaz Elgemiabby | OUTprint/INprint: What does dignity mean?For more information, call 216.357.3434 or email cudc@kent.edu.
Student Teams Create Development Plans for Cincinnati Riverfront
This January, three teams of graduate students from the Kent State CAED and Cleveland State competed in the Urban Land Institute Hines Student Competition. Running two weeks, the competition asks students to analyze an existing site in a North American city and develop a 10-year urban design & financing plan for the area. The competition is an opportunity for students in design & development to work together and understand how cities are developed in real-life scenarios.
This year's site was in Cincinnati, along the Ohio River but disconnected from the CBD by a major highway, Fort Washington Way. The students were charged with creating a cohesive mixed-use district that successfully wove this area back into larger urban and regional systems.
Team "Syn City" harnessed urban agriculture & autonomous transportation to develop a scheme to grow and provide food for Cincinnati's local urban neighborhoods in the heart of the city.
Team "Over the Vine" extended Vine Street into a riverfront pier to make a strong connection with the Ohio River and through the CBD into the growing neighborhood of Over the Rhine.
Team "Cincinnati Greenway" emphasized pedestrian-scale green connections throughout the development area, encouraging wandering and discovery.The Cleveland chapter of ULI generously supports the student competition each year. Professionals from the local design & development community volunteer their time to assist on evening reviews & critiques. We're grateful to all our professional partners for their support.Congratulations to all our students for their hard work!