College of Architecture and the Arts hosting lecture series on innovative thinking and design

Photo by Florida International University.

Carolina Gonzalez/Contributing Writer

Remaining at the cutting edge has inspired the College of Architecture and the Arts to host a lecture series in hopes to inspire innovative thinking and design.

On Nov. 14, the University will host Jimenez Lai, founder of Bureau Spectacular, to speak about his distinct artwork and ways to diversify students’ views on “several disciplinarian issues.”

Juan Brizuela, correspondent of CARTA news, considers the lecture series to be a unique opportunity for students to learn and network.

[pullquote]“We want to expose our students to new designs and new ways of thinking.”[/pullquote]

“The lectures are very engaging while also providing a chance to network,” said Brizuela.

Lai’s Bureau Spectacular is renowned for its cartoon narratives that take their form in architectural installations, models and small buildings. It is also closely affiliated to the Midwest Mafia of Architecture Schools.

Lai’s “Coffee, Scars and Insignia” is not the first lecture hosted by the College of Architecture and the Arts to promote the need for dynamic thinking.

Every semester, professors and architecture firm representatives from around the world are welcomed to the campus to present insightful information to not only architectural students, but to anyone who is enticed by the evolution and news of the world of design.

Brizuela mentioned that though the lectures are sometimes geared towards specific types of architectural designs, such as a focus on landscape or interior, they each present fundamental aspects of the changing world of design, along with potential fears or benefits to face in the future.

At one of the events this past month, Alfredo Andia, associate professor at the College of Architecture and the Arts, based his lecture on the ambiguous future of the architectural world.

Andia focused his lecture around the growing link between advances in the technological world with design, such as the possibility of robots taking over the architectural world, enlightening the students to ponder whether this would be a blessing or a threat.
Brizuela attended Andia’s lecture and observed that the events so far have accumulated enough students to fill up an entire auditorium.

– news@fiusm.com