EQUITY IN ARCHITECTURE FORUM 2023
Reinsh-Pierce Auditorium / APRIL 5th, 2032 / 4-6:30PM
listen. speak. change.
Educational and professional culture work in tandem to advance architecture around the world. Constant evolution is necessary to continue to push the boundaries of our field and create necessary change, and it needs to be happening in all facets of architecture: undergraduate education, graduate education, firms, research, and other related fields. Equity in Architecture has established Listen. Speak. Change. as the overarching theme for future Forums. As an organization, we’re diving deep into relevant topics that have come up as pressing issues in the design field. Last year, FORUM focused on architecture culture related to mental health and the wellbeing of students as we entered the post-Covid-19 era. This April, FORUM seeks to understand how architecture education can address shortcomings in its methods to better serve students, educators, and firms in the 21st century.
As the architecture field shifts values and faces emerging challenges, architecture education should prepare a resilient next generation. FORUM 2023 asks… What is and isn’t serving students, educators, and firms in the current state of architecture education, and how can we evolve curriculums to best prepare students for success in our changing world? We believe in the power of valuing and advocating for ourselves as students. At the close of FORUM 2023, EQiA will create a report documenting the discussions and discoveries that were made, along with a list of references to further dive into the topic. We will share it with the entire School of Architecture and work to make real change. This Forum conversation is only the beginning - much more is to come.
This year, we want to continue a dialogue that addresses both challenges and successes in architecture school, and in the profession beyond. We want to LISTEN to understand the issues students and professionals have faced over the years in their academic and professional careers. We want to SPEAK about ways architecture culture has changed or refused to. Finally, we aim to find ways architecture school pedagogy can CHANGE to revive the creative spirit of our profession and better prepare the next generation for success in the field.
FORUM 2022 SPEAKERS
Yousef Bushehri | Moderator
Georgia Tech Ph.D. Student and Researcher
Yousef Bushehri is a Ph.D. student in evidence-based design investigating how the design of spaces affect human health outcomes. His research interest brings together spatial design, aging, and accessible design. In addition Yousef is interested in methods of analyzing and quantifying spatial experience so that designs can be compared to extract characteristics to inform future guidelines.
Professionally, Yousef has worn many hats – he was practicing as an architect in Kuwait, completed an art residency at Google's Paris office, has been a research assistant at the Simtigrate Design Lab, teaches studio and health-design at the school of architecture, directed the Precollege Summer Studio at the College of Design, was a founding member of the ConCave Ph.D student group of the College of Design, and is an artist.
Yousef attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. where he earned his BS.Arch (2011) minoring in psychology, and his M.Arch (2013) focusing on digital media, and he earned his MS.Arch (2016) at Georgia Tech with a concentration in healthcare design.
Marina Bourderonnet
Architect + Founding Partner of FAME Architecture and Interior Design
Marina Bourderonnet is a Founding Partner of FAME Architecture and Interior Design, a registered architect in the State of New York, a LEED Green Associate, and a co-host of the Second Studio Design and Architecture Podcast. She has a Bachelor of Architecture from l'Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Paris Val-de-Seine; is trained in sculpture, life drawing, and art history from l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts; and studied film photography and architecture at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Debbie Hollonbeck
Partner at Level Craft Construction
Debbie Hollonbeck has a BFA in Art Education. But after years of teaching art in elementary schools—Debbie was ready for new challenges. She aspired to find a niche that tapped into both her busy visual right-brain and her analytical left.
Debbie indulged her long-time interest of home restoration and began renovating homes with her husband Scot. After her first project—renovating their bungalow in Inman Park—she was hooked. They built their next home in Oakhurst with the help of a local builder. It turned out home renovation and building was Debbie's ideal “brain-mix” and she parlayed her design and project management skills into a full-time position with that local builder for over six years.
Debbie has been a partner at Level Craft Construction since 2013—bringing her rich and varied toolbox of talent to every custom job. She is one of only a handful of female contractors in Atlanta and has found that to be a powerful advantage. Debbie lives in a beautifully renovated Decatur home with her husband Scot, daughter Abby and their three overzealous dogs.
Candace Seda
Architect + Founder of Candace Seda Design
Candace Seda is an Atlanta-born architect whose mission is to make quality design accessible to those who have been historically excluded or overlooked and to create the best built K-12 learning environments to positively impact the educational experience for future generations. She accomplishes this through her work at Collins Cooper Carusi Architects, organizations like NOMAtlanta, as well as her design firm Candace Seda Design. Candace is a passionate and enthusiastic designer who loves working with people and communities to shape a changing world.
Ellen M. Bassett
John Portman Chair and Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Design
Ellen M. Bassett is the John Portman Chair and Dean of the Georgia Tech College of Design.
An urban planner by training, she previously worked as Professor and Chair of the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning in the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. She also served as the School's Associate Dean of Research and Director of the Real Estate + Design and Development program. She is the past Chair of the UVA Faculty Senate and served as the faculty representative on its Board of Visitors (AKA Regents.)
Her areas of research interest and expertise are land use planning and law, climate change/sustainability planning, health and the built environment, and international development, with a special focus on cities of the Global South. In addition to her teaching and research expertise and leadership roles in US institutions of higher education, she also has expertise and experience in international development planning and acts as a consultant to international development agencies working in Sub-Saharan Africa.
