Lecture: Joseph Altshuler

“Architecture is Alive”

Architecture is alive, and lively. Not “alive” as merely a metaphor or analogy, but as an animated state-of-being that is capable of enacting agency in the world. This lecture offers a lens through which we might read the world as composed almost entirely of animated beings with character, in relation to other beings, at a range of scales, and in various contexts. From exuberant interiors to interactive public spaces, we’ll imagine architecture as animate creature that abounds with vibrant color, shapely form, and interpersonal intimacy. This lively way of seeing the world retrains the perception of our own human personhood to acknowledge how much more we have in common with our architectural companions than that which the conventional built environment recognizes. Perhaps if we’re better able to empathize with our buildings, then we might cultivate deeper empathy for our fellow humans as well.

Joseph Altshuler is a designer, educator, curator, cofounder of Could Be Design, a Chicago and Urbana-based design practice, and an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Architecture. Joseph’s teaching, practice, and scholarship explore architecture’s capacity to build lively audiences, initiate serious play, and amplify participation in civic life. Joseph’s first book, Creatures Are Stirring: A Guide to Architectural Companionship (Applied Research and Design Publishing, 2022), prompts readers to develop more intimate friendships with architectural companions through a collection of essays, flash fictions, and case studies that illustrate solidarity among humans, nonhumans, buildings, interiors, and the broader environment. In 2023, Could Be Design was named a contributor to the Chicago Architecture Biennial’s fifth edition, selected as a University Design Research Fellow at Exhibit Columbus, and named one of the six winners of the 2023 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers, awarded by The Architectural League of New York.

This lecture is funded by the Robert B. Church III Memorial Lecture Fund.

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