Architecture Really Does Matter!

For the first time in recent memory, architecture will be the topic of a public workshop and presentation here in Greensboro.

The October 18th event, entitled Architecture Matters! Downtown Greensboro and Beyond will feature Chicago Tribune architecture critic Blair Kamin, who will make the case for the importance of architecture and design in our city.

This will be a real treat for Greensboro’s citizens, who hear little about the art form of architecture on a regular basis. The event marks the first time the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist has lectured in North Carolina. Kamin is a contributing editor of Architectural Record, and has served as a Pulitzer Prize nominating juror. He lectures widely and has appeared on national and local programs about architecture, including “CBS Sunday Morning,” “NBC Nightly News,” ABC’s “Nightline,” and National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Kamin is the recipient of more than 25 professional awards.

He is the author of “Why Architecture Matters: Lessons from Chicago,” a collection of his columns published by the University of Chicago Press.”

Kamin’s presentation will be the culmination of a day-long exploration of architecture, development and historic preservation, including two interactive workshops and a walking tour. Greensboro historically has enjoyed periods of great architectural advancement, followed by periods of conservatisms. Alexander Jackson Davis’s Blandwood Mansion (1846), Charles Hartmann’s Jefferson Standard Building (1923), and Walter Gropius’s East Market Street factory (1944) are among the standouts in the city. In contrast, Greensboro’s award-winning modernist landmark, the Burlington Industries Corporate Campus (1972) was destroyed in 2004 to make way for an expanded shopping center.

Kamin’s lecture begins at 5:30 in the Empire Room at 203 South Elm Street in downtown Greensboro. It is free to the public. To learn more about this event, please visit http://www.blandwood.org/events.html#kamin

Thanks to the project sponsors Hyatt Hammond Architects, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the Craft Insurance Center, Fireman’s Fund Insurance, Preservation Greensboro Incorporated, and Downtown Greensboro, Inc. Special thanks to Judi Kastner, Preservation Greensboro’s dynamo organizer, for orchestrating the event for us!