The Rotunda Gallery, 33 Clinton Street, Brooklyn Heights, presents Contemporary Architecture in the Urban Environment, a three-part lecture series exploring the challenges and opportunities for meaningful architecture in today’s cities. Organized by the Rotunda Gallery Friends Committee, the series will present three speakers each in a different venue.
Time: Each lecture begins at 7pm.
Cost:$15 per lecture or $40 for the series. For reservations contact Diana Rickard at 718-875-4047x11.

On Wednesday February 27th Bill Sharples, from SHoP/Sharples Holden Pasquarelli will lecture at the Rotunda Gallery in Brooklyn Heights. On March 6th, Stephen Cassell, from Architecture Research Office (ARO) will lecture at the newly-renovated BRIC studio, and on March 20th, Frederick Bland from Beyer, Blinder and Belle will provide a tour and lecture at the new Mark Morris Dance Center in the BAM arts district in downtown Brooklyn.

The Rotunda Gallery’s three-part lecture series will explore contemporary architecture in the urban environment. New York City in particular can present innumerable logistical constraints on the creativity of innovative architects. Each of the three lecturers have surmounted the challenges of urban sites and the intricacies of this city’s planning process, to produce meaningful architecture that gives physical form to the visions of individuals, organizations and communities.

Bill Sharples
"Open Architecture", February 27th 7pm, at The Rotunda Gallery
Bill Sharples is a co-founder of SHoP , a firm that has become known for its cutting edge and eclectic designs and for its prominence at the crest of architecture’s digital wave. Their "Light Bridges at Jay Street", a planned mixed-use building, is a central part of the revitalization of Brooklyn’s DUMBO district. They have also created the scheme for the new Museum of Sex in New York City. Their popular 2000 installation at PS1 Contemporary Art Center, included cabanas, locker rooms and a wading pool made of 6,000 fluidly arranged cedar planks, all of which led the community and museum-goers to light-hearted participation in the work.

Sharples will present his lecture at the Rotunda Gallery. The Gallery has been in its current home in Brooklyn Heights since 1993. In 1,800 square feet of raw space, architects Smith?Miller + Hawkinson created a visually dramatic space well-suited to the exhibition of all forms of contemporary art, and equally adaptable to the needs of an active education program. The new facility received the prestigious 1993 Excellence in Design Award from the New York State Chapter of the AIA.

Stephen Cassell
"Research & Practice" March 6th 7pm at BRIC Studio
Stephen Cassell co-founded Architecture Research Office (ARO) with Adam Yarinsky under the guiding principles of inquiry and experimentation. The team redesigned the US Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square. Weaving together context and content, they ingeniously transformed this particularly difficult site. The small and distinct building is able to hold its own amidst the competing and attention grabbing structures in this intensely visual urban environment. ARO’s work has been widely published and has received awards from the American Institute of architects, the Architectural League of New York, the New York City Arts Commission and the I.D. Annual Design Review.

Mr. Cassell will speak at the BRIC studio, a temporary performance space created in the former Strand theatre building located in the BAM arts district. BRIC has plans to convert the Strand building into a mixed-use cultural center with a small theatre, art gallery, and café.

Frederick Bland
"Designing for the Cultural Arts", March 20th 7pm at Mark Morris Dance Center
Frederick Bland has been a partner with Beyer Blinder Belle since 1978. This critically acclaimed firm aims to "rescue" America’s cities from the urban degeneration of the 50s & 60s. Convinced that urban environments are enriched by diversity and the dynamic interaction of past and present, the firm unites the old with the new in a diverse spectrum of projects. Almost all of our work is focused on making life in the cities better," says Bland. "It’s urban; it’s public; it’s democratic." Prominent projects include the Forest City Ratner 42nd Street Development, Grand Central Station and the Mark Morris Dance Center. Mr. Bland will deliver a lecture and tour at the newly-opened Mark Morris Dance Center in the BAM cultural district in downtown Brooklyn. While this space was designed as the permanent home for the Mark Morris Dance Group, it will also be an important community resource, providing rehearsal space for other New York-based dance companies, dance classes open to the public, and a small 150-seat performance space.