How will the global coronavirus pandemic change how public spaces are designed or modified, from classrooms to auditoriums, public restrooms to restaurants, hallways to elevators? How will the need for adequate social distancing impact how public spaces are used in a post-lockdown environment?
Bruce Presents, the Bruce Museum’s program series featuring thought leaders in the fields of art and science, returns on Thursday, June 4, 7 to 8:30 p.m., with a Zoom virtual panel discussion, “Architecture 20/20: New Visions for Public Spaces in the Age of COVID-19.”
— an announcement from the Bruce Museum
Providing expert insight into these new and pressing issues are four distinguished architects whose practices focus on the design of public buildings and spaces:
- Steve Dumez, Principal and Director of Design at EskewDumezRipple
- Craig Dykers, Founding Partner at Snøhetta
- Maitland Jones, Principal at Deborah Berke Partners
- Paul Schulhof, Principal at Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects
Participation in the virtual Bruce Presents on Zoom for the benefit of the Bruce Museum is $25 for Museum members, $35 non-members.
To reserve a place, visit brucemuseum.org or call 203-869-0376; a link to join the online conversation will be sent to registered attendees prior to the program.
Image from the Bruce Museum
Architects participating in the June 4 Bruce Museum online panel discussion.
In a second segment of the program, three executive directors of prominent cultural organizations will join the conversation. They are Pamela Franks, executive director of the Williams College Museum of Art in Williamstown, Massachusetts; Nico Wheadon, executive director of NXTHVN, a multidisciplinary arts incubator in New Haven; and Robert Wolterstorff, the executive director of the Bruce Museum.
The four architects will open the program at 7 p.m.; the three museum directors will join the panel at 7:45. The program will conclude with a Q&A session moderated by Leonard Jacobs, producer of Bruce Presents.
Image from the Bruce Museum
Museum directors participating in the discussion.
“The COVID-19 crisis makes urgent the need for new thinking about how we gather in our public spaces. It’s certain to lead to innovative, even surprising, ideas for how we can create new spaces, and for how we better use spaces that already exist,” said Wolterstorff, the Susan E. Lynch Executive Director of the Bruce Museum, and an architectural historian by training.
“Museums are places where we come together, in real space, to engage in culture and discussion” he said. “Bringing people together is essential if a museum is to create a sense of community. These ideas of gathering and of community are deeply embedded in the designs for the New Bruce, and that’s why this topic is so important to me right now. The Bruce Museum is delighted to present this timely discussion featuring four world-class architects, famous for their design of public spaces.”