EVENT: Vernacular Architecture Forum, June 14-17
The Vernacular Architecture Forum (VAF) will hold its annual conference in NYC for the first time, from June 14 to17, 2006. Several hundred architects, historians, folklorists, archaeologists, museum folk, and others will attend forums, tour neighborhoods, and share papers on the “ordinary architecture of North America.”
Place Matters and the Local Planning Committee invite you to join fellow enthusiasts from around the country to consider how the everyday landscapes of our city have been shaped, reshaped, and sustained over time.
1. KEYNOTE ADDRESS by ANDREW DOLKART: “New York: Vernacular City.” Wednesday, June 14, 2006, 6:30-7:30 pm. Shephard Hall, CCNY, 160 Convent Ave. at 140th St.
While New York is famed for its buildings designed by prestigious architects, it was their less well-known colleagues, working primarily for speculative builders, who created the residential and commercial streetscapes of the city. Andrew Dolkart, James Marston Fitch Professor of Historic Preservation at Columbia University, will analyze the ways in which speculative developers and their architects and builders adapted popular architectural forms to the demands of a dense city where real estate speculation has been a paramount influence since the first Europeans settled here in the 17th century.
This event is free to the public. No reservation required.
2. PLACE MATTERS PLENARY: “Does Place Matter on the Lower East Side?” Thursday, June 15, 2006, 6:30-8:30pm. Gotham Center for New York City History, CUNY, 5th Ave. & 34th St.
Always in a class by itself, today’s Lower East Side is beginning to look just like any other place, on the surface at least. Join four scholars of the Lower East Side as they dig deep into the neighborhood’s history. Does the Lower East Side have a special makeup that New Yorkers should protect? Its fascinating places may hold some clues.
This event is free to the public. RESERVATIONS ARE REQUIRED AND WILL BE HONORED UNTIL 6:25PM. Please call the CUNY Graduate Center’s Office of Continuing Education and Public Programming at 212-817-8215 or email [email protected].
3. VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE FORUM CONFERENCE: Tours and Papers
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, June 15-17, 2006 (Saturday paper sessions at Columbia University)
This will be the twenty-seventh annual meeting of the Vernacular Architecture Forum. The conference theme is “City Building” in New York, home to the largest concentration of vernacular buildings in the United States. With guided and self-guided tours on Thursday and Friday of the Lower East Side, downtown Manhattan commercial architecture, Harlem, and several neighborhoods in Queens, conference participants will explore the speculative built landscape of New York City and, in particular, examine the rich and varied ethnic overlays of New York City’s ever-changing neighborhoods.
A full roster of panels, roundtable discussions, and keynote speakers will complement the tours. Over 75 participants will present their research and fieldwork. The Saturday paper sessions also include a special Preservation Roundtable with Laura Hansen, Kathy Howe and others about the designation of cultural properties to the National Register, using Bohemian Hall as the case study.
For the full conference program as well as information about registration, visit the VAF website at www.vernaculararchitectureforum.org. Select the link for the “2006 New York Conference.” Special Note to New Yorkers: Pay particular attention to directions regarding partial registration. For further questions, contact Dana Saal, [email protected] or Barbara Morris, [email protected].
Plan to register early, as space on tours is limited.