We are thrilled to present the following keynote speakers for this year's convention. Each of them will share their exciting design projects and how architecture is making a connection to the people utilizing their projects.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER DECEMBER 29 | CONNECTING TO OUR MINDS
Esther Sternberg, M.D.
Director, Integrative Neural Immune Program
National Institute of Mental Health
The National Institute of Mental Health conducts and supports research not only on a wide range of mental health disorders, but also on reactions to national crises and traumatic events. This research includes the reactions of people following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers; the Oklahoma City bombing; wars and violence in the Middle East; and disasters such as earthquakes, tornados, fires, floods, and hurricanes, including the 2005 Gulf Coast storms. Dr. Sternberg will explore with the attendees how architecture connects with people and impacts their mental and physical health.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER DECEMBER 30 | CONNECTING TO THE PROFESSION
Peter David Cavaluzzi, FAIA
Principal, Ehrenkrantz Eckstut & Kuhn Architects
Peter Cavaluzzi helped to establish EE&K’s unique approach to architecture in which buildings and public spaces are conceived together as a complete design. Peter’s designs are sparked by a creative understanding and insight of each site and place, and usually begin with a simple analytic sketch. His expertise covers the spectrum from complex urban infill sites to sweeping waterfronts in the US and abroad.. His designs for CityCenter, which brought urbanism for the first time to the Las Vegas Strip, and other transformative large-scale projects have garnered national recognition and numerous national awards.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER DECEMBER 31 | CONNECTING TO OUR COMMUNITIES
Alan Arthur
President, Aeon
Aeon’s vision is that every person has a home and is interconnected within community. The core values that drive Aeon’s daily work are: community, trust, diversity, excellence, sustainability and leadership.
Alan Arthur has served as the president/chief executive officer of Aeon since 1988. Alan oversees the organization’s 1,705 units of affordable homes in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and brings 38 years of experience in housing and real estate development, including construction, project development, lending, code enforcement and city planning. He earned a B.A. in political science from Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. Alan teaches affordable housing development, financing and organizational governance issues to a variety of organizations and serves on numerous local housing boards and task forces.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER JANUARY 1 | CONNECTING TO THE WORLD
Francisco Javier Rodríguez Suarez, AIA
Dean, Universidad de Puerto Rico School of Architecture
Principal, r s v p architects
Francisco Javier Rodríguez Suárez is the Principal at r s v p architects with offices in New York and San Juan, and also the Dean at the University of Puerto Rico School of Architecture. Mr. Rodríguez graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with High Honors and won a Second Prize in the William Van Alen International Student Competition. He then studied a year at the Université de Paris before continuing his education at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, where he earned a Master of Architecture with Distinction winning the AIA Medal, the Portfolio Award and the Fulbright Fellowship.
His practice has earned three BIENAL Awards, the URBE Award, three AIA Citations, and Honorable Mentions in the Premio Obra CEMEX and the CAAPPR Innovative Housing Competition. In 2005 he was awarded the first AIAS National Emerging Practice Award, and recently he was selected to participate on the prestigious ORDOS 100 Project in China. His project was shown on the cover of Arq.i.tec magazine and exhibited in the Architectural League in NY and Art Basel.
