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A Broader Sense of Design

Examples of work by urban planner Michael Batty, who delivers the Clarkson lecture at the UB School of Architecture and Planning on Wednesday, November 15.

Dr. Michael Batty’s return to Buffalo will be a warm welcome back. The former director of the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) at the University at Buffalo, Batty returns as the Clarkson Chair through the UB School of Architecture and Planning. As a distinguished figure in the field of urban planning, Batty will engage and discuss his work in a series of public lectures and seminars November 13-16.

Batty’s research and work extends over various disciplines, not just urban planning. His research explores the development of computer technology in creating models for cities and also its impact of development policies in urban and regional planning. This work can be applied to other fields, including but not limited to architecture and geography. “His research is mostly based on visualization but he’s very broadly defined,” says Dr. Niraj Verma, professor and chair of Planning at UB.

This “broadly defined” research is reflected in his range of academic positions. From 1979 to 1990, Batty was professor and head of the Department of City and Regional Planning in the University of Wales at Cardiff. He served as the director of the NCGIA from 1990 to 1995, not long after it was founded in 1988. Along with the University at Santa Barbara and the University of Maine, UB’s NCGIA plays an important role in an ongoing research dedicated to geographic information. As Clarkson Chair of Planning, Batty will take on another interdisciplinary role, as he will also engage the students and faculty of the geography department.

Currently the director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Analysis, or CASA, at the University College in London, Batty is a leading authority on GIS or geographic information system. His research has impacted not only urban design but also architecture, geography and many other related disciplines. He investigates both the growing possibilities but also the limitations of technology. “His research in visual computation is becoming very important in developing 3-D studies and new technologies for visualization,” Verma says. “But he also points to particular problems in technology, in terms of the limitations of computations, which in turn makes for a very interesting discussion.”

The Clarkson Chair, awarded semi-annually, invites scholars or professionals in the disciplines of architecture, planning and design to UB, typically for one week. Verma explains the difference in the role as the Clarkson Chair as opposed to that of a lecturer: “The Clarkson Chair is special in that the lecturer doesn’t just come and go away, but it is a week-long engagement which is much more intense for both faculty and students.”

The major event open to the public is the Clarkson lecture on Wednesday. “People will come to see and listen to a very distinguished person in the field who probably is as qualified as anyone to forecast the future role of technology,” Verma says. “This is a rare opportunity to engage someone of this caliber.”

The role of urban and regional planners is of greater importance today, Verma says. “People in our field have a very special take on space, architects on a building level, planners more at the spatial levels of cities. Places aren’t where things are located, places are regions we make. Art and architecture are not just the traditional notions of making the city more beautiful, but they are becoming essential engines of economic development.”

Batty is one of an increasing number of urban planning scholars to visit UB, Verma says. “Urban design is not simply an extension of a scale of architecture, but rather it is essentially involved with the environment. This is really an opportunity internally in the department and within the school to energize people.”

Verma also emphasizes the importance of the Clarkson Chair to the city: “We are one of the main schools on this campus that is becoming more and more vibrant. And this is because we are in the city. The subject matter of many fields is right here. We have a special vantage point view of that. The Clarkson visitor not only helps in his or her own subject matter, but it helps put a new perspective on all the rest that is going on. It is a social cause, an intellectual cause, and a pedagogical cause.”

The Clarkson lecture by Dr. Michael Batty will be held Wednesday, November 15, at 5:30pm on UB South Campus, Crosby Hall Room 301.

PECHA KUCHA

The Pecha Kucha (Japanese for chit chat) craze is spreading. Originating in Tokyo and spreading from Shanghai to Los Angeles, young architects and designers come together to showcase their work in a unique manner: Each person presents only 20 slides, and each slide is presented for only 20 seconds. The latest Pecha Kucha in London drew in more than 1,000 people. New York City held its first Pecha Kucha on September 20.

The galleries and alternative arts venues in Buffalo have cultivated a thriving environment for designers of all fields. Shortly after New York City’s first Pecha Kucha, it is exciting, though little surprise, that Buffalo will be holding its very first Pecha Kucha this Saturday (November 11) at Soundlab.

Mark Dytham, co-founder of Klein Dytham Architecture and Pecha Kucha, came earlier this fall to Buffalo as a part of the UB School of Architecture and Planning lecture series. He explained Pecha Kucha began as a way for young designers to meet, network and show their work. The rules are a fun, yet simple and creative way to keep presentations concise and the interest up.

Nick Bruscia, Pete McCarthy and Heamchand Subryan will be running the Pecha Kucha at Soundlab. The presenters will be a mixture of artists, architects, and designers. Presenters will be: Dennis Maher, JT Rinker, Nick Stedman, Stefani Bardin, Chris Romano, Omar Khan, Seth Amman, Cesar Cedano, Paul Vanouse, Camille P. Garcia and Brad Wales. The doors at Soundlab open Saturday, November 11 at 7pm. Presentations begin at 8:20pm. For more information, check out www.pechakuchabuffalo.com.

Design Matters is presented in association with the UB School of Architecture and Planning and supported by a fellowship endowed by Polis Realty.