Snøhetta project manager and senior architect Simon Ewings will speak at Stanford on Thursday, October 6. The lecture outlines research projects that Snøhetta is involved in and concentrates on two projects in the Middle East where the firm has used environmental conditions and sustainable goals as direct design drivers.
Snøhetta has always had an approach that puts the site in focus, with the aim of building architecture that is relevant to its environment and its social and cultural setting. The firm believes that issues of sustainability have to be addressed as a natural part of the design process, just like structure or logistics. These two projects, one a research center and the other a city plan, have been instrumental in allowing Snøhetta to test this philosophy. "We set ourselves one basic question during the design process: 'What does the site want us to do?'" the firm says.
A reception will follow at Y2E2 267, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford. (For a map, visit campus-map.stanford.edu)
The event is sponsored by the Stanford Architectural Design Program, Stanford University Architect/Campus Planning and Design, SiCa Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts, and Silicon Vikings.