Moshe Safdie is a world renowned architect, urban planner, theorist, educator, and author who has been a visionary force in architecture, urban planning and design for over forty years.
His projects combine stunning aesthetics, social activism and advanced technologies, with a profound respect for historical and regional context.
In 1964 he established his own firm to realize Habitat at Expo ’67, an adaptation of his thesis project, “A Case for City Living/Three Dimensional Modular Building System,” written at McGill. Habitat became a pioneering example of prefabricated housing. In 1970 Safdie established a Jerusalem branch office and commenced on an intense restoration of Jerusalem’s Old City and the reconstruction of the new center, linking the Old and New Cities. Over the last several decades, Safdie has completed a wide range of projects, including cultural, educational, and civic institutions; neighborhoods and public parks; mixed-use urban centers and airports; and master plans for existing communities and entirely new cities.
Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Design within the College of Arts, Media and Design is spurred by the dance between his curiosity and ignorance, Richard Saul Wurman has sought ways to make the complex clear. He has now written, designed and published 83 books on topics ranging from football to health care to city guides, but he likes to say that they all spring from the same place – his ignorance. Described by Fortune magazine as an “intellectual hedonist with a hummingbird mind,” Wurman has been shaped by an epiphany had as a young man: ignorance and embracing the understanding of what it is like to not understand. Mr. Wurman created and chaired the TED conference from 1984 thru 2002 which celebrated his observation of the convergence of the technology business, the entertainment industry and designers. He also created and chaired the TEDMED conference from 1995 to 2010 as well as the eg conferences. Recently, he completed his first www conference and in 2014 will produce the 555 conference; the first conference to be truly global as it will circumnavigate the globe. “Finding the future first”. Mr. Wurman has been awarded several honorary doctorates, Graham Fellowships, a Guggenheim and numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as recently becoming a Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Design in the College of Arts, Media and Design at Northeastern University. He is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Smithsonian, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Awards. Wurman has also been awarded the Annual Gold Medal from Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland and a Gold Medal from AIGA. He is also a Fellow of the AIA and is a board member of The Wolfsonian. He lives in Newport, RI with his wife, novelist Gloria Nagy, and their three yellow labs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Gallery
Presented by: Northeastern Center for the Arts and Art + Design.