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Communities By Design

Change is inevitable, sensitive adaptive reuse should be supported.

Andrew Lehrer was recently a guest lecturer as part of an intensive two-day undergraduate design studio at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC). On Feb. 18, Lehrer addressed students studying the role of the designer in public life, and the role architecture plays in shaping public life. Students address the legal, ethical, cultural, and political concerns that shape architecture practice through the development of a design project. The goal of the studio project is to develop rigorous representation techniques achieving a professional level of presentation while examining the issues of program, structure, and building skin to identify how public architecture represents itself as a cultural and political artifact.

The class actively engages with DOCOMOMO (DOcumentation and COnservation of buildings, sites, and neighborhoods of the MOdern MOvement) as well as local industry professionals. Lehrer participated in an engaging discussion with the class regarding the design industry, the asset repositioning market, and the specific challenges and opportunities of repositioning the iconic McCormick Place Lakeside Center into a residential neighborhood.

Andrew Lehrer is committed to furthering ESD’s mission to improve society through the built environment, as reflected in programs like this.

Reach out to Andrew to learn more about life sciences engineering.

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