Book Talk: Multiplicity in Contemporary Architecture

Join us for a discussion of Multiplicity: On Constraint and Agency in Contemporary Architecture (University of Massachusetts Press, 2024).

Today, the field of architecture faces a reckoning. While there is no longer consensus on what defines an architectural work, theorists, historians, and practitioners are grappling with urgent issues—among them the impact of climate change, the dynamics of power and race in relation with the built environment, and the technological, practical, and ethical dimensions of architecture. As established practices, academic objectives, and professional expectations come under scrutiny, architecture is in search of new definitions, identities, and voices. Inspired by Italo Calvino’s memos about literature in the twenty-first century, this volume—the second in a series— situates architecture within a broad framework, exploring its complex interactions with environmental, cultural, political, social, artistic, and technological forces.

In addition to the editors, the contributors include Sanford Kwinter, Aleksandra Jaeschke, Jennifer Mack, Rahul Mehrotra, Charles Waldheim, Kristi Cheramie, Jesse Reiser, Julian Harake, Jenny E. Sabin, Charles Davis, Esra Akcan, and David Karmon.

Speakers:
Pari Riahi AIA, Associate Dean and Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Laure Katsaros, G. Armour Craig Professor in Language and Literature, Department of French Amherst College
Aleksandra Jaeschke, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, University of Texas at Austin
Charles Waldheim, John E. Irving Professor of Landscape Architecture, Graduate School of Design Harvard University
Kristi Cheramie FAAR, Professor and Head of Landscape Architecture, The Knowlton School, The Ohio State University
Jenny E. Sabin, Arthur L. and Isabel B. Wiesenberger Professor in Architecture & Chair, Design Tech, Cornell University; Principal, Jenny Sabin Studio
Esra Akcan, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Cornell University

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