Streamed live on February 28th 2017

Published on Nov 6, 2014

As the world grapples with what some have deemed “the age of urbanization,” affordable* housing has become a great concern. Dr. Joan Clos, executive director of UN-Habitat recommends that housing should be a big part and at the center of the urban planning and design conversation. He means by that, that housing should come back to the center of the urban strategy: urban planning, design, and urban strategy. Published on Mar 19, 2015

When I moved into the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood of Portland, Oregon, I saw within a three block area many buildings, two within a block, with a "U" as in unsafe.  The neighborhood I am told has the highest concentration of  such buildings.  It is a sad situation for a City that prides itself on its built environment. (April 2014)

UPDATE: December 2014 presentation about Unreinforced Masonry Buildings (UMB) here.

At no time in Portland's history have so many citizens been affected by new architecture. New buildings --bold, beautiful, middling, or downright ugly-- are rising in every neighborhood of the city. The city has a process --Design Review-- to decide what buildings make the grade. But its most stringent oversight only applies to downtown and few other, innermost districts.

How does design review work? How well is it working? Should it be expanded to other parts of the city? Three prominent design advocates who have overseen the city's review during three distinct eras share their opinions about how to get the best buildings for the city. Panelists: Michael McCullouch, architect, urban designer and developer; Guenevere Millius, President of Parachute Strategies and chair of the Design Commission; John Russell, President of Russell Development Company. Randy Gragg, director of the University of Oregon's John Yeon Center, will moderate the program.Published on May 30, 2014

Alejandro Aravena: My architectural philosophy? Bring the community into the process.

Janine Benyus, Jason McLennan, and David McConville describe how our lives are related to nature and ecological design. These speeches (of which clips are shown) took place at the 2013 Bioneers Annual Conference. Published on Dec 9, 2013

TEDxPhylly speech, Architecture critic Inga Saffron challenges cities to shift focus and look beyond skyscraper fantasies in her TEDxPhilly talk - "Moving from The Grand Vision to The Grand Adjustment." Cities should instead work to improve and build amenities that make urban areas better places to live for existing dwellers. Public spaces should be a priority: upgrade transit systems, add bike lanes to all major roadways, increase walkability, create and maintain great parks and public plazas. Saffron believes that skyscrapers are not the only way to achieve the worthy goal of density and sustainability. To explain, she points to the success of mid-rise buildings in Philadelphia and posits that different cities need a range of densities. American cities must be flexible and make adjustments - an idea jokingly demonstrated in Saffron's opening skyscraper yoga poses. Uploaded on Jan 29, 2012

How can architects build a new world of sustainable beauty? By learning from nature. At TEDSalon in London, Michael Pawlyn describes three habits of nature that could transform architecture and society: radical resource efficiency, closed loops, and drawing energy from the sun.