Joyce Hwang, AIA, is a practicing architect in Buffalo, New York with several built projects, none of which can be inhabited or used in any way by people. Given the dismal state of the avant-garde in contemporary architecture, this is perhaps not unexpected; however, what is surprising is that Hwang intended this to be the case. Ants of the Prairie, Hwang’s burgeoning young practice, aims to incorporate diverse animal habitats into the built environment. Projects including Bat Cloud and Habitat Wall intended to provide homes and ecological interventions for threatened species, facilitating the integration and remediation of environmental and urban conditions. Hwang practices in Buffalo while teaching at the State University of New York, Buffalo, giving her ample time to explore and interact with the wildland-urban interface. This zone between the built and the natural yields interesting opportunities which Hwang capitalizes on in most spectacular fashion. A true visionary, her lecture should prove to be as extraordinary and unusual as her built work, and not one to be missed. (Nick Cecchi)
Thursday, April 2, 5:30pm at the School of the Art Institute’s Columbus Auditorium, 280 South Columbus, Room 203. Free.
Finishing the Hat: The Fine Art of Optimo In 2011, GQ magazine featured Optimo as one of the seven best hat stores in America. It took lots of bold steps for Graham Thompson to reach the top of his game and become one of the best fine hatmakers in America.
