Events

The first episode of We@UIC features the Housing Futures Initiative and its ongoing effort to advance the design of urban living. Members and collaborators of the group give short reports on key aspects that their current prototype seeks to address by rethinking the spatial, material, structural, and ownership conventions of housing. The HFI is a platform for research, design, building, and action to radically reimagine housing as a collective practice (a think-and-do-tank devoted to the architecture of affordable urban living). Most recently, the group exhibited at the National Public Housing Museum. As a Chicago-based nonprofit, the HFI is committed to pursuing housing for all, stands in solidarity with communities in need, and believes in affordable dwelling as a productive challenge for architecture. Presenters include Professor and HFI director Alexander Eisenschmidt, Associate Professor and designer Kelly Bair, Adjunct Professor and structural engineer Bob Magruder, and UIC School of Architecture alum and developer Rafael Robles. 

Alexander Eisenschmidt is a designer, writer, and Professor at the UIC School of Architecture. He leads the Housing Futures Initiative and is author and editor of numerous books, most recently At Home with the Collective and The Good Metropolis. In addition, Eisenschmidt has curated exhibitions, and his research and design works have been exhibited at venues ranging from the Venice Architecture Biennale to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Kelly Bair is a designer, Associate Professor, and Associate Director of Graduate Studies at the UIC School of Architecture. She is a partner at BairBalliet, a co-founder of Possible Mediums, and a board member of the Housing Futures Initiative. Bair is also co-author of the book Possible Mediums, and her work has been exhibited in venues such as the Venice Architecture Biennale and MoMA.

Bob Magruder is a structural engineer and an Adjunct Professor at the School of Architecture, UIC. He is principal at Goodfriend Magruder Structure (GMS) and board member of the Housing Futures Initiative. GMS has been recognized numerous times, including with the AIA Distinguished Building Award. Before joining GMS, Magruder led structural design teams at Perkins and Will and Thornton Tomasetti for high-rise buildings, sports arenas, office, and residential projects.

Rafael Robles is the co-founder and director of Duo, an innovation studio/lab that creates built environments for the benefit of society. Duo creates its own works and partners with organizations of all types to launch ethical real estate development and related ventures. Its approach to practice promotes norm-and-form-making through the lenses of economics, ecology, technology, culture, and ethics to ensure that its innovations provide societal benefits.

Free and open to all.

Wednesday, October 21,1 pm
Room 1100 A+DS
845 W. Harrison St.
Chicago, IL 60607