Celebrating BAC Talks 2021

On Monday, June 14, over 600 guests from 26 states and 41 countries virtually gathered to attend our second annual BAC Talks. This year’s theme was Technology in Design and Architecture. 

BAC Talks catapults the far-reaching and cutting-edge work of our global BAC community during a one-day virtual gathering. As a leader of design education, online and onsite, we believe it is our duty to propel conversations toward the future―working on building long-term solutions now, sparking action in the classroom, and beyond. 

The discussion topics offered opportunities for deep-level conversations rooted in the BAC’s unique design perspectives while we work toward offering solutions as an academic and socially-minded community. This year’s sessions ranged from Social Justice and Equity in Technology and Architecture: Building Structures of Inclusion; Emerging Strategies in Urban Development and Smart Cities; Fresh Ai-R: The Coming Revolution of AI in Robotics and Design, and more!

We are grateful to each of the moderators and speakers in our incredible lineup. If you weren’t able to join us live during the event, or would like to rewatch any of the sessions, we invite you to check out the recordings below.

Welcome Session

President Mahesh Daas kicked off the day with a few words on the importance of technology.

"Technology is a way of revealing the world and obtaining a new perspective." - Dr. Mahesh Daas, BAC President and ACSA Distinguished Professor

Social Justice and Equity in Technology and Architecture: Building Structures of Inclusion

Featuring Luis A. Perez Demorizi (BLA '16) Open Space Coordinator, City of Newton, Janet Roche (MDS '17) BAC Adjunct Instructor, Host of INCLUSIVE DESIGNERS® Podcast; Barry Reaves, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, (BPDA), Dr. Nikhil Satyala, Chair BFIT Engineering Technology, Calvin Conyers, BFIT Marketing, Colin Riley, Director of Real Estate Development at the BAC, Dave Snell, Senior Associate PCA, Daniela Coray, (MLA ‘18) Course Instruction and Faculty BAC, BSLA K-12 BSLA.

"Call to action: Come out of your silos. Work collaboratively and holistically towards sustainability." - Barry Reaves, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA)

Building Documentation Technologies: The History, The Future and Beyond!

Featuring Amr Raafat (M.Arch '10) Vice President of VDC & Technology, Windover Construction, along with Jared Curtis President, Existing Conditions, and Kurt Yeghian, BAC Alum, Owner, Existing Conditions.

Keynote Speaker: A Conversation with Dr. Neri Oxman, Moderated by President Mahesh Daas

Hailed as Nature's Architect, Neri Oxman is a designer, inventor, and researcher. Her design approach and philosophy, entitled Material Ecology, lie at the intersection of culture and nature calling for the unification of the made and the grown across scales and species. A multi-disciplinary designer, Oxman founded The Mediated Matter Group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2010 where she established and pioneered the field of Material Ecology, fusing technology and biology to deliver designs that align with principles of ecological sustainability. Oxman became a tenured professor at MIT in 2017. 

"How might we create a collaboration not only between humans and buildings, but between humans and other species?" - Dr. Neri Oxman, Founder and CEO of OXMAN

Emerging Strategies in Urban Development and Smart Cities

Featuring Isra O. Banks RA, NCARB, LEED AP (M.Arch ’16), Founder & Architect at TriVek Architects and Margarita Iglesia, BAC Education Director for Curriculum Development and Faculty in Landscape Architecture discussed the emerging strategies in urban development and urban planning projects taking place in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and beyond.

Hygrothermal Modeling and Building Enclosure Design

Featuring BAC instructor Lyle Axelarris PE LEED AP, Structural Engineer & Building Scientist at Design Alaska Inc, along with BAC AAC Member, Charles Pelini AIA (M.Arch '17) Project Architect, Project Associate, HarrisonKornberg Architects, Houston, TX.

From BAC to CEO: Conversation with Anas Al Kassas (M.Arch '17) Founder & CEO, INOVUES, INC.

Featuring BAC alumnus and entrepreneur Anas Al Kassas (M.Arch '17), who has developed a high-impact cleantech solution to promote a faster transformation into a sustainable future, for a conversation hosted by Len Charney, BAC Special Assistant to the President.

Landscape Technology and Performance Modeling

Featuring Jonathan Cave (MLA '17), Landscape Architect at Halvorson, Tighe & Bond Studio, and Chien-Yu Lin (MLA '18), Graduate Assistant & PhD Student at SUNY-ESF, discuss Perspectives of Landscape Design with BAC student, Jay Cadwallader of BAC Makers, and Margarita Iglesia, BAC Education Director for Curriculum Development and Faculty in Landscape Architecture.

The Evolving Immersive Experience (VR/AR/XR)

Featuring Anthony Frausto-Robledo (B.Arch '96) along with Andrew Keating, Kat Schneider, and Gabe Paez, Founder and CEO of Wild Technology, Inc.

"Using technology like The Wild to virtualize transportation allows design professionals to not only work from home, but to work from anywhere." -Gabe Paez, CEO/Founder, The Wild

Fresh Ai-R: The Coming Revolution of AI in Robotics and Design

Dr. Mahesh Daas, BAC President and ACSA Distinguished Professor, led a discussion on the coming revolution of AI in robotics and design. Based on his recently co-edited book (with Andrew John Wit) Towards A Robotic Architecture and his forthcoming co-authored book, Being Human/Being Robot, a graphic novel on how humans and robots may live together.

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"Integration about robotics and understanding the framework about artificial intelligence has to be part of our curriculum and practice... and the BAC is thinking about it." - President Mahesh Daas

Collective Authorship and Virtual Storytelling through Analog and Digital Computation

Featuring Takbir Fatima, architect, educator, and Director of DesignAware, and Peter Atwood, BAC Director of Digital Media & Faculty, the Fractals Workshop is a generative design and computation workshop that learns from logic, geometry, structure, and the growth patterns of natural systems. The discussion was moderated by Joe Porter (M.Arch '16).

The Emerging Work Place: Interior Architecture Technology

Moderated by Denise Rush, BAC Dean of Interior Architecture,  featuring Felice Silverman (MIA ‘92)  principal of Silverman Trykowski Associates. Marcus Hamblin (BIA ‘14), Associate IIDA Associate, Gensler, and Alexandra Haslett  (MIA ‘20) Interior Designer, Isgenuity.