Bruce Mau Design and architect Lee Polisano headline School of Architecture + Design Ferrari Symposium
BLACKSBURG, Va., March 17, 2009 – On Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20, Virginia Tech's School of Architecture + Design will be hosting "Territories of Opportunity," the third annual Ferrari Symposium.
The Ferrari Symposium offers an opportunity for architects, designers, faculty, and students to explore issues and opportunities regarding design research.
Event registration is online or at the door, although space is limited. On Thursday, March 19, at The Hotel Roanoke, event registration and check in begins at 1 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., a Bruce Mau Design, an internationally renowned design firm based in Toronto, Canada, presents a lecture illuminating the opportunities of design thinking in the 21st century. The lecture is followed by a reception and dinner at The Hotel Roanoke.
On Friday, March 20, the program moves to The Inn at Virginia Tech’s Latham Ballroom and begins at 10:30 a.m. with faculty presentations about design research and projects. At 2:30 p.m., Lee Polisano, president of Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates and founder of the firm’s London studio, discusses new developments and dimensions of design, research, and practice. Polisano is widely recognized as a leader in civic and ecological responsibility of the built environment. The Polisano lecture is followed by a reception in Cowgill Hall, room 300.
Registration: Full event registration is $250. Registration for the March 19 events only is $175. For more information, contact Kathryn Clarke Albright, School of Architecture + Design assistant director at (540) 231-2514.
The Ferrari Symposium honors the memory of Olivio Ferrari, an internationally renowned educator in architecture and a founder of Virginia Tech’s architecture program. In 1968, Ferrari created the "Inner College," a program for a limited number of students who were at different levels and disciplines. This experimental educational unit provided students access to a community of faculty members from the college and beyond. More than 1,000 students have had the opportunity to study in Europe in the Study Abroad Program founded by Ferrari. In his last major effort, he helped create and was named director of the Virginia Tech European Studies Center in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, where a forum of educators and students could come together in study.
Virginia Tech's architecture program, in the School of Architecture + Design, has been recognized as one of America's World-Class Schools of Architecture with highest distinction, tied with Harvard, Yale and Columbia Universities. The multidimensional ranking by Design Intelligence, the only national college ranking survey focused exclusively on design, is based on five criteria: current rankings by professional practices; historic 10-year rankings by professional practices; rankings by academic department deans and chairs; overall campus environment and student evaluations; and program accreditation.