SoA Currents Lecture Series begins today with a lecture by Eran Chen, "Un-Boxing New York City" at 6:30 p.m. in Glasgow Hall. The lecture will address the contemporary constraints of the city and its system, and examine how the design process can benefit from dissecting the rules and limitations, which shape the reality of any creative practice. Eran Chen AIA, is the founder and executive director of ODA, an architectural firm based in NYC. Eran is known for creating buildings that are radically innovative as well as fiscally and ecologically responsible. Since its inception in 2007, ODA has quickly become one of the most prolific and influential firms of its kind. Having developed groundbreaking residential projects in New York, Eran’s work has been widely featured in such publications as The New York Times, New York Daily News, New York Spaces, Architectural Digest, Interior Design, and World Architecture News, among others. Eran’s contributions to architecture have been recognized by the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Boston Society of Architects (BSA). He received a B.Arch Diploma with Honors from the Bezalel School of Art and Design in Jerusalem, where he serves on the board and as guest lecturer. He is a registered architect both in the State of New York and Boston and a member of The American Institute of Architects. Prior to founding ODA, Eran served as a principal at Perkins Eastman NYC.


A team of researchers from University of Miami’s School of Architecture and College of Engineering have been awarded a $500,000 National Science Foundation grant. This grant will be used to research the resiliency of Miami and Miami Beach, and if they could survive through devastating Hurricanes and the rising sea level. Our very own Director of the Center for Urban & Community Design and Research Assistant Professor Sonia Chao will be one of the principal investigators leading the research team. The team will be looking at neighborhoods and the features they have, and if they are built to last against these conditions. Read more.

Let's help attain this year's UMSoA United Way Campaign goal of $4200! Reach out to SoA's Campaign Ambassador, Julia Pizarro with any questions regarding donations. Employees have the option of giving through a recurring payroll deduction from their salary, or a one-time gift through payroll deduction, check, or credit card. The easiest and most effective way to contribute is to make a pledge online through Workday. Simply log on to Workday and, on the “All About Me” page, click on the “Give” worklet, then select “United Way,” and follow the instructions to make your donation. United Way will distribute donations according to each employee’s wishes. Faculty and staff have the option of assigning their contributions as unrestricted, directing their gift to a University of Miami fund, or designating their favorite not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization as the recipient. The University of Miami’s 2016 United Way Campaign runs through December 31, and will update its progress regularly in e-Veritas and on the TeamUM United Way website.

October 12, 2016 – High Noon lecture by Benjamin Kirtman
Benjamin Kirtman is a Professor at the University of Miami, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Department of Atmospheric Sciences. He is also Director of the Cooperative Institute for Marine & Atmospheric Studies, as well as, the Director of the Center for Computational Science Climate and Environmental Hazards Program. He will give a High Noon lecture at 12:15 p.m. in Rinker Classroom.

October 24, 2016 – Jaime Correa’s (RE)thinking URBANISM Opening Reception
How will large numbers of people living together respond to the environmental threats posed by climate change? Will new habitat aspirations and modes of production emerge as a result of critical vulnerabilities in personal property, safety, and general welfare? Should our designer’s imagination be used to raise a new political awareness where inventiveness operates to undermine the complacent convictions of the reasonable and the respectable? Under the current conditions of uncertainty, should we use utopian ideas to generate an allegorical call for innovative design and greater preparedness? Or, should do more of the same while expecting different results? Professor Jaime Correa’s (RE)thinking URBANISM induces the spectator to answer these questions while recomposing, laboriously, a series of utopian fragments for a new urban puzzle. His colorful capricci exalt the capacity of our imagination to create new models of living through an unprecedented typo-morphological catalogue in which the sum is greater than the parts. The exhibition will be on display from October 10 to November 3, 2016 in the Korach Gallery. The reception will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, October 24 and will feature a short talk from Correa.