Event

In a lecture drawn from his recently published book A Country of Cities: A Manifesto for Urban America (Metropolis Books, 2013), architect and urban planner Vishaan Chakrabarti argues that a focus on "trains, towers, and trees" might provide a more prosperous, sustainable and equitable alternative to our current failing condition of "highways, houses, and hedges." The lecture will be illustrated with a series of charts and diagrams specially developed by Michael Bierut and his team at Pentagram. Presented by the MFA Design Criticism Department.

Chakrabarti is the director of the Center for Urban Real Estate at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation and a partner at SHoP Architects where he advances large-scale projects worldwide. Previously Chakrabarti was an executive vice-president at the Related Companies where he oversaw planning and design for the Moynihan Station and the Hudson Yards redevelopment project, and before that he served as the director of the Manhattan Office for the New York City Department of City Planning. 

After the lecture, visitors are invited to attend a Q&A with refreshments in the MFA Design Criticism reading room with the department's students and faculty. RSVP to reserve a seat.