Announcing "Planetary Imaginaries"

The notion of the planetary encompasses a framework for reconsidering our relationship with the environment. It calls for a radical reimagining of our ethical and ecological responsibilities in the Anthropocene—a world-ecology beyond human-centered boundaries, beyond mapped territories, and beyond the habitual rhythms of our disciplines. Here, the environment is more than a background; it is a dynamic and cultural project—one that demands imagination, urgency, and new modes of engagement. The Planetary Imaginaries event series convenes distinguished speakers whose work interrogates planetary conditions through diverse modes of design and knowledge inquiry, representation, practice, and theorization. 

In response to the prompts of this theme, this semester’s public lectures include Toshiki Hirano of Theoretical Hole Design (THD) and the University of Tokyo; Anthony Acciavatti of Somatic Collaborative and Yale University; Marion Weiss & Michael Manfredi of Weiss/Manfredi; Bryan C. Lee of Colloqate Design; Rob Holmes of Auburn University; Nader Tehrani of NADAAA and the Cooper Union; a conversation between Eve Blau of Harvard University Graduate School of Design and Eric Mumford of Washington University in St. Louis; and Faranak Miraftab of The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  

On Friday, November 7, the Interior Design Program at UTSOA is hosting the 2025 Interior Provocations Symposium in collaboration with Pratt Institute. Entitled Weather, the 2025 iteration of this annual event provides a public forum for critical thinking about the design, theory and history of the interior. The symposium keynote speaker is Paris-based architect Philippe Rahm, known globally for his multi-scalar explorations of the built environment in the age of climate change.  

At the start of the semester on September 5, the exhibition “Anomalies & Order: Grammars of Anonymous Architectures” by Patrick Danahy, the 2023-2025 Emerging Scholar in Design, will be presented at Mebane Gallery in Goldsmith Hall. An opening talk will be given by Danahy at 5pm.  

All events are free and open to the public and will occur in person at 5pm in the Goldsmith Lecture Hall (310 Inner Campus Drive, Room 3.120) unless noted otherwise. 

LECTURES 

Toshiki Hirano, Theoretical Hole Design (THD) and the University of Tokyo  
September 29 at 5pm 
Goldsmith Lecture Hall 

Anthony Acciavatti, Somatic Collaborative and Yale University 
October 1 at 5pm  
Goldsmith Lecture Hall  

Marion Weiss & Michael Manfredi, Weiss/Manfredi 
October 6 at 5pm 
Harry Ransom Center Prothro Theater 

Bryan C. Lee, Colloqate Design 
October 27 at 5pm 
Goldsmith Lecture Hall  

Rob Holmes, Auburn University 
October 29 at 5pm  
Goldsmith Lecture Hall  

Nader Tehrani, NADAAA and the Cooper Union 
November 5 at 5pm  
Goldsmith Lecture Hall  

Eve Blau, Harvard University Graduate School of Design & Eric Mumford, Washington University in St. Louis 
November 10 at 5pm  
Goldsmith Lecture Hall 

Faranak Miraftab, The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
November 12 at 5pm  
Goldsmith Lecture Hall  

EXHIBITION 

“Anomalies & Order: Grammars of Anonymous Architectures” by Patrick Danahy 
September 5
Opening talk at 5pm  

SYMPOSIUM (in partnership with Pratt Institute) 

“Interior Provocations: WEATHER”  
November 7
Keynote lecture by Philippe Rahm at 5pm 
Harry Ransom Center Prothro Theater