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  THE TOWN PAPER
VOL. 5, NO. 2 -- SPRING 2003
 

AIAS Forum Held in Chicago



From December 29, 2002, to January 2, 2003, more than 1,300 students, educators and professionals came together in the city of Chicago for FORUM 2002, the annual conference of the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS). AIAS provides students with the opportunity to learn about issues facing architectural education and the profession, to meet students and professionals with common interests, and to interact with today's leading architects. At this particular FORUM, themed "City Reborn" and hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, attendees gathered to discuss how architectural knowledge could help make better places to live.

A wide variety of speakers, workshops and tours were included in the event's program to help nurture ideas and enhance the learning experience. Tours that explored the city and its wonderful architecture and neighborhoods included Chicago's much-publicized HOPE VI Project, North Town Village, a trip to Historic Pullman, Ill., and a tour of the Frank Gehry Millennium Park band shell construction site. Workshops on portfolio design, graphic skills and rendering, and photography were a unique and successful part of the event's program.

Keynote speakers included Dr. Donald L. Miller, author of "City of the Century: The Epic of Chicago and The Making of America"; Sharlene Young, winner of the 2001 AIA Chicago Young Architect Award; and architects Eric Lloyd Wright, Andrés Duany and Carol Ross Barney. Seminars led by Jim Kunstler, Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk, Peter Swift and Emily Talen encouraged students to become active participants in their own communities and schools where new urbanism is slowly working its way into the curriculums. Finally, Duany and Kunstler joined University of California-Berkley architecture student Jess Wendover, Mayor John Norquist of Milwaukee, and Mayor David Ransburg of Peoria, Ill., in a panel discussion devoted to addressing student concerns and thoughts about the future of our communities. "Envision City Reborn" will long be remembered as a FORUM highlight.

For many of the architecture students in attendance, individuals who came before them in the profession provide a great deal of inspiration. Walter Burley Griffin's design of Canberra, Australia, Le Corbusier's "Radiant City" and Frank Lloyd Wright's "Broadacre City" demonstrate how architects have been keenly interested in the collaboration of architecture, landscape and urban design. Through talent and creativity these individuals have made a difference in the way the places we live look and work as communities. Were their contributions positive ones? Will contributions made by future architects be positive ones? At FORUM 2002, the message delivered was that students of architecture and planning must understand the responsibility that comes along with the degree.

Although the event itself has ended, the energy has not. The Students for New Urbanism chapter at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has recently begun a listserv devoted to continuing the discussion about how young people can improve community life. Well over 100 subscribers enlisted within the first week. The listserv, TIMELESSWAY, draws inspiration from the written work of Christopher Alexander and others. To join this listserv, please e-mail Genevieve Borich at borich@uiuc.edu. For more information about FORUM 2002, go to www.aiasnatl.org/forum.

Zach Borders, AIAS FORUM 2002 chair, is currently working towards a master of architecture and a master of urban planning degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he earned a BSAS in 2001.