Advisory Council Meeting

The first of the yearly Advisory Council meetings was held on June 26th and 27th, 2009, under the premise of “Economic Crisis and Architectural Change”. Still, more than simply concentrating on the effects of the recession, the meeting turned into a profound revealing deeper displacements and changes in the profession, crises of values and of principles in architectural theory, practice, and training. Issues such as unequal and rapid urbanization processes, the distortion of the local vs. global dichotomy, the challenges posed by radical technological innovations or sociopolitical change, and even the shifts in media and modes of dissemination, were all highlighted throughout three sessions and six thematic discussion panels. The question that drove the meeting was straightforward yet momentous: What changes does the twenty-first century have in store for architectural production and knowledge, for architecture culture and intelligence?