David Benjamin: Living Materials

5:30–6:30 pm Online

Physics & Contemporary Architecture Guest Lecture Series Spring ‘21 

The University of Chicago Physics Profs. Sid Nagel and Heinrich Jaeger invite the public to the 8 lectures of the course PHSC11800 Physics & Contemporary Architecture, featuring a top flight of architects and structural engineers discussing contemporary structures and their relationship to physics. All lectures take place on Thursdays at 5:30pm CST and will be presented online as live video conferences. View for more information and to register.

David Benjamin (The Living)

David Benjamin is Founding Principal of The Living and Associate Professor at Columbia GSAPP. Benjamin’s work combines research and practice, and it involves exploring new ideas through prototyping. Focusing on the intersection of biology, computation, and design, Benjamin has articulated three frameworks for harnessing living organisms for architecture: bio-processing, bio-sensing, and biomanufacturing. The Living has won many design prizes, including the Emerging Voices Award from the Architectural League, the New Practices Award from the American Institute of Architects New York Chapter, the Young Architects Program Award from the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1, and a Holcim Sustainability Award. Recent projects include the Princeton Architecture Laboratory (a new building for research on next-generation design and construction technologies), Pier 35 EcoPark (a 200-foot-long floating pier in the East River that changes color according to water quality), and Hy-Fi (a branching tower for the Museum of Modern Art and MoMA PS1 made of a new type of biodegradable brick).

Event Type

Broad Audience, Lectures

May 13