How do you radically rethink a profession? It’s a question that’s constantly being posed by the tech disruptors of Silicon Valley, but one that perhaps isn’t asked as often in architecture. But recently, two activist-architects from AIA San Francisco’s Equity by Design committee (EQxD)—Lilian Asperin, AIA, partner at WRNS Studio, and Rosa Sheng, FAIA, principal and director of equity, diversity and inclusion at SmithGroupJJR—have taken a creative cue from the tech industry with a series of Hackathon workshops meant to provide a forum for architects and designers to tackle big issues, while rethinking the very ways they ideate and collaborate.
“This is about launching great ideas,” explains Asperin, the session organizer, who discovered the concept after attending a Hackathon at Facebook. The Equity by Design Hackathon 4: ArchitectuREvolution took place this Wednesday, when about 30 participants—from students to practicing professionals, as well as people from related fields like marketing and construction—gathered for a day of brainstorming and pitching. The concept is based on the tech model, where groups work collaboratively for a set period of time, with the end goal of producing a functional prototype. While some tech Hackathons can last for as many as three sleepless days, EQxD’s took place over the course of an afternoon at Syracuse University’s Fisher Center in Manhattan.
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