Closed Worlds: Encounters That Never Happened
When: Sat., Feb. 27, 2016 at 12:00 pm - 6:00 pmWhere: The Cooper Union - The Frederick P. Rose Auditorium
41 Cooper Square
Price: Free, RSVP requested
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With Reyner Banham, Buckminster Fuller, Jacques Cousteau, Victor Olgyay, Neil Armstrong, Ray and Charles Eames, Walt Disney, Peter Van Dresser, Hans Hollein, and John McHale.
On Saturday, February 27th, Storefront for Art and Architecture and The Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture of The Cooper Union will jointly present a public conference, Closed World: Encounters That Never Happened. Presenters and discussants will engage in debate and discussion and the history and future of closed systems in architecture and design.
The history of twentieth century architecture, design, and engineering has been strongly linked to the conceptualization and production of closed systems. Serving as partial reconstructions of the world in time and space, closed systems identify and secure the cycling of materials necessary for the sustenance of life. Contemporary discussions about global warming, recycling, and sustainability have emerged as direct conceptual constructs related to the study and analysis of closed systems. The aim of the event and the exhibition is to examine how closed worlds, while deriving from a deeply rooted fantasy of architecture producing nature, are integrated into the very fabric of reality in our contemporary cities and buildings.
The format of this conference invites participants to impersonate a historical figures who have been major contributors to the discourse of closed systems. Figures include Reyner Banham, Buckminster Fuller, Hans Hollein, Neil Armstrong, Jacques Cousteau, and Walt Disney, among others. Participants will research these figures and impersonate them freely and openly in the spirit of performance. This includes, but is not limited to, invocations of dress code, mannerisms, style, and ideological discourse.
Hans Hollein / Christina Ciardullo
Victor Olgyay / Daniel Barber
John McHale / Anthony Vidler
Walt Disney / Lydia Kallipoliti
Charles and Ray Eames / Andrés Jaque
General Dynamics / Bess Krietemeyer
Neil Armstrong / Peder Anker
NASA / Michelle Addington
Jacques Cousteau / Janette Kim
Buckminster Fuller / Mark Wigley
Howard T. Odum / Anna Dyson
Peter Van Dresser / Mitchell Joachim
Reyner Banham / Eva Franch i Gilabert
This conference is presented in conjunction with Storefront’s exhibition Closed Worlds and the Closed Worlds Design Competition.
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