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New Now Next design lectures to reach global audience as series moves online

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Clare O'Loughlin Clare O'Loughlin Europe Press Office, Ireland
13 October 2020

Exploring ideas of justice, innovation and the environment, this year’s New Now Next architecture talks will showcase the best thinking, research and design in the architectural world. Japan’s iconic architect Akihisa Hirata, New York design studio SO-IL and planning expert Toni L. Griffin, founder of the Just City Lab at the Harvard School of Design, will headline this year’s free lecture series, which will reach a larger-than-ever audience as it moves online for the first time.

As part of its commitment to education and the built environment, Arup continues to support the curated lecture series, which brings together unique insights from leading practitioners and provides a fresh look at the role the built environment plays in shaping our communities. Curated by the Irish Architecture Foundation (IAF), the free talk series has a strong following among architects and designers in Ireland, having sold out events over the past seven editions.

“ New Now Next is a must-watch for anyone interested in the ideas that will shape our buildings, neighbourhoods and cities for years to come. Arup is proud to continue to support this event, which aligns with our ethos of shaping a better world by bringing these leading thinkers and bright ideas to an increasingly wider audience. ” Rory McGowan Rory McGowan Fellow, Multidisciplinary engineering

“We’ve adapted New Now Next,” said IAF Director Nathalie Weadick. “By making all our talks virtual, we’re excited to expand our audience to people around the world with an interest in and passion for excellence and innovation in design, social justice and the environment”. Kicking off the series on 29 October, SO-IL founders, Florian Indenburg and Jing Liu will be joined online by IAF Director Nathalie Weadick and ArkDes architecture curator James Taylor-Foster. The studio is known for their reflective installations exploring ideas of materiality, context and sustainability.

Best known for Tree-ness house in Tokyo, influential architect Akihisa Hirata will speak with architect, writer and curator Pedro Gadanho on 19 November.

Third in the talk series on 11 February 2021 will be Toni L. Griffin, planning expert and founder of Just City Lab at Harvard School of Design. As an applied research platform, Griffin’s practice designs transformative social and spatial urban revitalisation frameworks, rooted in addressing historic and current disparities involving race, class and generation.

To register for the free New Now Next lectures, visit the Irish Architecture Foundation website.