I've been working with the AIA New York Chapter Emerging New York Architects Committee (ENYA) to put this event together for this Saturday... Please try to come if you can (but be early--it's free and it's going to be packed!).
Burning Man: Planning and Evolution of the Temporary City
Burning Man is a temporary city (Black Rock City), an experiment in community inhabited by over 40,000 participants for one week each year in the Nevada desert. As it is a place where artistic expression is highly valued, participants create incredible works of art and explore innovative ways of living.
The London Observer has described Black Rock City as a "beautifully zoned tentopolis, designed with a precision of which the Renaissance city-state idealists or Haussman would approve." Though the event began somewhat organically, the urban planning and design of this temporary city has evolved each year in response to its growth and the innovation of the organizers and the participants.
As a one-week experiment in community planning, Burning Man has a lot to teach us about how we plan more permanent communities. Since event participants construct their camps and works of art on a blank piece of land within the city plan, the entire city is a real-time, high intensity laboratory in planning, design, negotiation, and community issues.
Please join us for a panel discussion in which we will explore how the event chose its urban planning strategy, how the strategy has evolved over time, how participants interact with and respond to the plan, and what Burning Man may be able to teach us about the planning and urban design of permanent cities.
Panel Participants:
Larry Harvey, Founder and Executive Director, Burning Man
Rod Garrett, City Planner, Black Rock City
The Eye, Architect, Camp Disorient
Hayley Fitchett, Urban Planner, Gensler Architecture, Design & Planning Worldwide
Moderator:
David Koren, Director of Marketing, Perkins Eastman
Location:
Center for Architecture
536 LaGuardia Place
(between 3rd and Bleecker Streets)
Date:
Saturday, October 13th
2-5pm
Admission:
FREE