Syracuse Architecture to host symposium on reprogramming high rise buildings

Syracuse Architecture to host symposium on reprogramming high rise buildingsApril 09, 2007Mary Kate O’Brienmcobrien@syr.edu

The Syracuse University School of Architecture will host a symposium exploring the future development of the design and engineering of tall buildings in the public realm Wednesday, April 11. Funded by a fellowship from The Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (Syracuse CoE) and the Department of Energy, the event will take place on from 1-6:30 p.m. in the main auditorium of The Warehouse, 350 W. Fayette St., with a reception to follow. The symposium is free and open to the public.

The symposium, “afterSHAFT: Reprogramming the High Rise Biology of the Vertical Plant,” is an afternoon of public discussion focusing on the evolution and potential of vertical public space in the city. Around 15 percent of the space of every tall building is dedicated to vast unoccupied shaft areas that provide mechanical, electrical, circulation and informational services to the occupied areas. These shafts — narrow, vertiginous and often hundreds of feet tall — are among the most impressive spaces built. “afterSHAFT” will explore the possibility of adding activities to these spaces that would make them visible, exposing the vertical movement and infrastructure, enhancing the environmental performance and offering a place where people could gather.

The symposium, supported by a fellowship grant from the Syracuse CoE, is constructed around a research project by SYSTEMarchitects, an architectural firm in New York City, and Buro Happold, an engineering firm headquartered in London with offices around the world. The research analyzes a proposed system of shafts that provides ventilation techniques generating clean power integrated into the visible architecture of the structure and providing 80 percent energy savings over conventional models. Other features include more individual controls, the generation of on-site renewable energy and space for public programs. Images and engineering data will be presented during the afternoon by the two firms. Participants from parallel disciplines will engage in a discussion from their varied perspectives.

The participants will be: Cristobal Correa, associate, Buro Happold; Jeremy Edmiston, principal, SYSTEMarchitects; Douglas Gauthier, principal, SYSTEMarchitects; Natalie Jeremijenko, visiting global distinguished professor, New York University; Mark Linder, chair of graduate programs, School of Architecture; Gerald McDermott, assistant professor, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania; Antoine Picon, professor of the history of architecture and technology and director of doctoral programs, Harvard University School of Design; Mark Robbins, dean, School of Architecture; Byron Stigge, Buro Happold; and Ken Wark, associate professor of media studies, Eugene Lang College and the New School for Social Research.

For more information, contact Mary Kate O’Brien, communications manager of the School of Architecture, at (315) 443-2388 or mcobrien@syr.edu. For information on parking at The Warehouse, call (315) 443-8238.