United States

When we came together in February to celebrate the launch of Gathering, we considered transformational retail experiences rooted in brand values; the desire to physically experience a brand – both by drawing energy and inspiration from being in a store to the tactility of the product; and the role retail environments play as a third space in our larger communities. Repeatedly we heard the refrain; “bad retail is dying.” We discussed how retail brands have adapted to embody their values, designed for experiences, and built authentic connections with their consumer base. In today’s context we’re considering the future of that experience in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Bernard & Anne Spitzer School of Architecture at CCNY is hosting a virtual summer show on 27th May at 6pm to celebrate the work of students and faculty during this past academic year. Hosted by the Summer Show Team, the hour-long event will feature video footage; the launch of the school’s new publication, Antidotes, a joint student-staff-faculty initiative; prizes and retirement speeches, as well as a tribute to Michael Sorkin, who tragically passed away in March. The Zoom event can host up to 1,000 people so please join us as we honor this year’s work, reflect on the challenges posed by this unprecedented pandemic and look to the future with a bold vision of curricular and pedagogic change.

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The Metropolitan Opera offers a free stream each night on the Met website for a period of 23 hours, from 7:30 p.m. EDT until 6:30 p.m. EDT the following day.

The office environment, collaborative by nature, presents distinct challenges in a world still recovering from a pandemic. Hear how architects, designers and their clients are exploring creative solutions.

Learn about Art Deco—the opulent architectural style from the 1920s and 1930s—with CAC docent Mike McMains on this live, 45-minute virtual tour in downtown Chicago on May 5 or 10.

Join architect and urban planner Doug Farr as he introduces Carbon Free Chicago, a 30-year campaign to equitably decarbonize our region’s economy.

In this webinar, Eric Salitsky will present his 2018 Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant research, Exploring the Global Phenomenon of Multifaith Spaces. Most commonly found in airports, hospitals, and university campuses, multifaith spaces also exist in military bases, prisons, malls, stadiums, museums, and as stand-alone institutions. Salitsky traveled to over 50 of these spaces in New York, Boston, London, Manchester, Zurich, and Berlin to document the various ways that both architects and laypeople have attempted to solve the inherent issues involved in accommodating the prayer needs of various religions at once.

In this webinar, Amanda Aman, AIA, LEED AP BD+C will present her 2018 Stewardson Keefe LeBrun Travel Grant research, Fragile Fields of the Arctic Circle Periphery. The perpetual global climate shift materializes within the Arctic Circle as a reaction to the pressures of petrochemical industrial output and unsustainable human practice. Arctic environments are among the first to experience the manifestations of this shift as the Arctic is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the globe. As a result, natural systems, wildlife migrations, and patterns of habitation will be severely altered, in addition to the dependence of indigenous people groups on these for cultural preservation and physical survival.

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Due to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago’s public art legacy is younger than Boston’s or New York City’s. Its vast collection of public art, however, is star-studded, widely varied, endlessly interesting—and still growing. CAC docent Ed McDevitt leads this engaging introduction to some of Chicago’s greatest public art treasures.

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