Keynote

Francis Kéré

Francis Kéré

The internationally acclaimed architect Francis Kéré garnered critical praise from the beginning of his architectural practice when awarded the prestigious Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2004) for his first ever building - a primary school he designed, raised the funds for and realised in collaboration with the residents of his native Gando, Burkina Faso.

Keynote Lecture by Francis Kéré

Peter Exley

Peter Exley

2021 AIA President-Elect

Peter Exley has established an internationally recognized practice of award-winning architecture for children, families, and communities, elevating the standards of design for learning and play environments. He is the co-founder of Architecture Is Fun, a Chicago-based architecture, design, and consulting firm. Dedicated to helping the next generation of architects, Peter has also been a professor at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) for more than 25 years. He will serve as the 97th President of the American Institute of Architects in 2021.

Kick-Off - Design Is Disruption

Josef Hargrave

Global Foresight Leader, Arup

Josef has a background in Biology, Innovation Management and Corporate Foresight. He has spent the last nine years working at the global design, engineering and consulting firm Arup. As Arup’s Global Foresight Leader, he is responsible for the delivery of foresight services and projects globally, working across Arup’s Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and UKIMEA regions. Josef’s clients and collaborators include Arup leadership teams as well as external organisations from a broad range of sectors.

Keynote Lecture: Designing for a new normal - Rethinking the future of building design

Dr. Cindy Frewen

Urban futurist and Architect

Dr Cindy Frewen, FAIA, APF, urban futurist and architect, consults, speaks, and writes on urbanization, future cities, and design futures, specializing in the intersection of people, technology, and environment. She teaches the Design Futures Workshop and Social Change at the University of Houston graduate program in Strategic Foresight. Clients include the United Nations Development Program, UNESCO, US AID, US Treasury, US Federal Reserve, US General Services Administration, IBM, Hallmark Cards, VF Corporation, Saint Gobain, ULI, and national American Institute of Architects.

Keynote Lecture: Architecture as a Catalyst for Change

Moshe Safdie

Principal, Safdie Architects

Moshe Safdie is an architect, urban planner, educator, theorist, and author. Over a celebrated 50-year career, Safdie has explored the essential principles of socially responsible design with a distinct visual language. A citizen of Israel, Canada and the United States, Moshe Safdie graduated from McGill University. After apprenticing with Louis I. Kahn in Philadelphia, Safdie returned to Montréal to oversee the master plan for the 1967 World Exhibition. In 1964 he established his own firm to realize Habitat ’67, an adaptation of his undergraduate thesis and a turning point in modern architecture.

Keynote Lecture - Nature and Urbanism: Reimagining the Public Realm

Eames Demetrios

Eames Demetrios wears many hats. His current large-scale project is his parallel universe, Kcymaerxthaere, a global artwork of multi-dimensional storytelling.

Demetrios is probably still best known in the design world as director of the Eames Office and authoring several design books--including An Eames Primer and Essential Eames: Words and Images. He’s authored 11 books altogether. He's also made over 60 films (mostly shorts) on topics from the Modern Maya to Frank Gehry, from homelessness to legendary winemaker Peter Gago. Genres include fiction, documentary and animation. Demetrios has given talks in 50 countries, including on the mainstage of the legendary TED conference.

Keynote Lecture: Seeing What is not There